florescent: “I’m not fully settled into Europe”

Ava “florescent” Eugene’s entry to tier one VALORANT made history this year, becoming the first Game Changers player to join a VCT team. While her move to Apeks has brought with it a string of strong personal performances, the team has so far struggled to put a win on the board and now sits with an 0-3 record in Stage 1.

Their third successive defeat came at the hands of high-flying Fnatic in a 2-0 series. Despite the scoreline, there were still signs of life from the Ascension side, with a map two Split being forced into overtime. We spoke to the two-time Game Changers Championship winner following the loss.

Hotspawn: What are your immediate thoughts and what do you think was maybe the difference? Especially on Split, it was obviously really close, so what do you think was it that gave them the edge?

florescent: Definitely just small mistakes on Split that cost us the game, but that’s how most games go. So we just need to work on that and we need to practise harder.

Do you think that’s generally been the issue throughout Apeks’ games, given that you’ve been taking maps in Stage 1 but haven’t quite been able to close out a series?

florescent: I think that we need to be able to be more consistent and grounded in-game. Sometimes things can get super hectic and we’re just not as consistent as we need to be and we can’t close out the rounds that we need to close out.

Today you played against one of your favourite players and idols in Chronicle. What was that experience like?

florescent: Pretty happy. I got to talk to him before the game, and last year in Berlin when I was here for Champs, I got to talk to him too, and it was really nice. He’s a super cool guy and he’s really insane.

Lee Jones: While you’re not the first NA to EU import, it’s certainly still not massively common for players to make that switch, while you are of course the first Game Changers player to compete in VCT EMEA Tier 1.

How have you found settling into such a different environment, and do you feel like there’s extra pressure as a result of all of that?

florescent: I’m not really good with pressure — like I don’t get much of that, ever. So it’s just, it’s exciting that I get to have this opportunity. But, I mean, kind of lonely here in Berlin.

Lee Jones: Dropping 70 kills against NAVI wasn’t too shabby!

How do you rate your performances so far?

florescent: I don’t know. I feel like I just need to find out something that’s going on. I’m not fully settled into Europe, like, living here, and I don’t know why. I feel like it affects me a little consistency-wise. Because in NA, I feel like I was super consistent; every single game I played was at my peak. But here I feel a little wobbly here and there, and I just don’t know if I’m fully adjusted yet.

Lee Jones: You’ve spoken before about your love of food, revealing that you eat four meals a day.

How have you found the food so far in Berlin, have you found stuff that you like?

florescent: Nothing, bro. No, nothing. I’m actually, like, so sad. I took a small break and went back to NA in between Kickoff and I was so happy. Literally I feel like I could kiss the ground when I go to NA and just eat so much. When I’m here, I don’t know, it’s not that good.

Have you not tried the kebabs, or just not a fan?

florescent: I’m not a fan of kebabs, but I had other Turkish food and it’s, like, good, but it’s not insane. I miss Canadian food so much.

Lee Jones: Despite the results not going Apeks’ way just yet, you’ve still got so many fans that have been supporting you online and continue to hype you up and will Apeks to do well.

How nice has that been nice to see?

florescent: It’s definitely nice to have followers that are so supportive, but it kind of hurts letting them down game after game.