SRG meL: “If I got a VCT offer anywhere in the world, any region, I will 100% take it and give it everything.”

Following Shopify Rebellion GC’s statement win over Karmine Corp, securing their spot in the upper bracket at the VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2025 in Seoul, Melanie “meL” Capone sat down with Hotspawn to talk through her leadership and growth, tier two lessons from her time in Challengers, and her continued push toward tier one. With SRG now one of the most established and feared teams in GC, meL remains a defining voice of the scene, unafraid to speak about the realities of competing.

Hotspawn: I think at this point, you’re one of the faces of GC and of VCT in general.

So how does that feel coming from the other side?

MeL: It feels not real, honestly, in a good way. I think it’s crazy that there’s people out there that look up to me. I’m just kind of doing my thing, and I guess what I’m doing is working and it’s all good. So I guess I’ll just keep doing my thing.

Hotspawn: I think that you’re also willing to make statements and talk about things many people struggle with in the Valorant scene and the GC scene. So one question I would love to get your take on is regarding the jump from GC to tier two or to tier one, because you’re somebody who’s done it, who’s actively continuing to try and get there.

What advice would you give someone?

MeL: I think my advice is; there is no shortcut. You just have to work hard. The whole reason Game Changers exists is because there isn’t a tonne of marginalised genders and women competing. Because there’s less of a talent pool, it’s not so easy for us to get into these upper echelons of play.

There are so many players in tier two and tier one that played alongside great IGLs and very experienced tac FPS players. How many people in tier one have CS experience or played alongside people who did? A lot of them. Not all, people like benjyfishy, who came from Fortnite, he plays alongside people who have some level of experience. For a GC player, you’re coming in at a disadvantage, not because of your birthright, but just naturally because there aren’t as many women that play tac FPS.

You just have to work hard and know there will be a lot of people praying on your downfall. You have to accept that and ignore it. One thing consistent among the top players in Valorant, irrespective of gender, is how much time they spend playing. The more women that play ranked and grind: Sarah is a fringe example, she plays like 40 ranked games a week. I know it sounds crazy, but you have to get at least 20 ranked games every week on top of practice if you want to push yourself. There is no shortcut.

Hotspawn: Talking about working hard, what does your routine or average day look like with SRG?

MeL: Back home — I try my best to replicate it here, but it’s pretty much the same — I wake up around 10:30, which is late for the average person, early for a gamer. I go to the gym from 11 to 12, shower, walk, get breakfast, and I’m usually back at my setup around 13:30. That leaves me about an hour or 30 minutes before practice. I spend that time watching VODs or thinking about Valorant: videos, ValoPlant stuff, just thinking about what to do in practice.

Then we practice from around 2 to 9 pm. Typically that’s two hours of server, two scrims, an hour break, two scrims. We end around 9 or 10pm. From 11 to 1am, I try to play ranked or do more Valorant things — watch VODs or come up with new strats. So normally I have free time around midnight to 2am. I go to sleep by 2am.

Hotspawn: It’s insane how much time you spend just doing Valorant-related things.

Do you ever feel bored or feel burnout?

MeL: For me, I definitely have experienced a lot of burnout this year. But hanging out with friends is my pastime. Around midnight is when my brain is already out after an 11–12-hour day. I hang out with my friends on Discord — shout out Mae, that’s Sarah’s wife. We hang out a lot, play random games, play ARAM. It helps me a lot.”

Hotspawn: Out of curiosity, what games do you play when you’re not playing Valorant?

MeL: ARC Raiders. I was into it before coming here; I can’t play now, but I played it with Sarah and my partner Roy. We play a lot of games together.

Hotspawn: I interviewed Noia earlier, and she said this year, without Flor, all of you realized you haven’t hit your ceiling and have improved individually.

How has that been for you as an IGL and player?

MeL: Oh, yeah. It really freed up the rest of us to make our own plays and not be reliant on setting up one singular person to win the round. We used to play not to lose while one person played to win. Now all of us can step up and make big plays. We’ve changed a lot of our processes so everyone can flourish. You can see that at its best in our win vs TSM in Challengers. Truly a team effort where everyone took risky plays and made them. That was the hallmark of the change.”

Hotspawn: Even losing, watching you in Challengers was fantastic.

What was your biggest lesson from tier two this year?

MeL: In tier two, you can have the best macro game plan, you should strive for it, but tier two comes down to micro. You will be exposed for not having good micro. Every little inch matters. Players greed map control and kills.

If you want to push someone off long in tier two, you have to throw everything and hold the angle. ENVY’s Eggster is someone who won’t TP, even fully scanned, until you shoot him. Microchemistry between duos and in defaults is everything. That is my biggest takeaway.

Hotspawn: If you get a good tier two or VCT offer, would you go for it instead of GC? Would you do both?

MeL: For VCT, absolutely. If I got an offer anywhere in the world, any region, I will 100% take it and give it everything. Everyone on the team understands and feels the same. For tier two, it’s muddier. I’d rather stay with my team if we can make Challengers. I’m open to hearing anything, but mostly VCT. I’ll travel the world for that. Take me anywhere. I’ll do it.

Hotspawn: What has been your biggest personal challenge in terms of growing as an IGL and leader?

MeL: Two things. First: coming into my own as a leader. On Cloud9 White, it seemed like we won a lot but fell short at Champs. After that fourth place, I became a different person and leader. It was the most difficult time, but also where the most growth happened.

Second: getting over the mental hurdle of making tier two. I always had this voice saying, ‘You can’t do it.’ This year we broke that barrier. It was freeing. It was difficult to disprove my own negative self-talk, but I finally conquered that demon.”

Hotspawn: Regarding the GC scene, what can be done to support it more — from Riot or others?

MeL: For teams that attend Champs, there are benefits. You get a bypass to the next stage — we benefited this year by going straight into the promo/relegation tournament, played Funhavers, won, and qualified for Challengers.

That early January/February window is incredibly important. Take advantage of it. I can’t really speak for the rest of the teams, but I would say not to give up and to keep trying. I know that there is a lot of vitriol online and there’s a lot of people that don’t want to see people succeed. And so they say it’s never going to happen or that they’re not good enough yet. People say these things until, boom, it happens, right? And then suddenly these people that have been praying for the downfall are incorrect.

Hotspawn: Your next game is against TL. It’s a matchup we’ve seen many times.

What are your expectations? And who is your biggest challenger in this tournament?

MeL: If I had to pick a team? Whoever we play that day is our biggest threat. We give them our full attention. For us, it’s Team Liquid. But I think they’re strong irrespective of us. They beat G2 Gozen, they made upper finals. I have a lot of respect for daiki and that team. It’ll be a good matchup. I hope it lives up to the hype. I hope it’s not a crazy blowout… though as a competitor, a blowout would be nice. But as a viewer? I want a banger.

Hotspawn: You do so many things: desk analyst, tournaments, IGLing.

How do you do it all?

MeL: It’s difficult, but a solid schedule does wonders. My agent Dave helps me a lot. Riot is also very understanding when I have desk offers. Masters being in Toronto this year helped a lot. I just have to be on top of everything. If I let up for a couple days, it falls apart.

Hotspawn: Is competing your favorite Valorant-related thing to do?

MeL: Competing definitely takes the cake. There is nothing like it. I really enjoy working the desk too. But deep down, maybe in the future, I could see myself coaching. Not right now, but I like thinking about the game strategically and from a team dynamic perspective.