NS Francis: “We’re not here for tourism; we’re here to win the whole thing”

Hotspawn had a chance to speak with Kim “Francis” Mu-bin after Nongshim RedForce secured a major win in the upper semifinals at VCT Masters Santiago against Americas #2 G2 Esports, guaranteeing themselves a top three result at the event, as well as continuing to be the only team still undefeated this year. They dominated VCT Pacific’s Kickoff to emerge as first seed, and stand one more series win away from the grand final of Masters Santiago.

Hotspawn: Firstly, your individual performance was absolutely amazing today.

What was motivating you?

Francis: “In map one I couldn’t show my usual performance because the pressure got the better of me. But as we entered the second map, the coaching staff, yoman, Sungmin, SilKanoN, they all took good care of me and kept saying that it was okay. I think that’s what motivated me the most today.”

Hotspawn: Nongshim as a team has had a long journey to get here, going through Ascension twice.

What has made you so dominant this year?

Francis: “Going through Ascension twice drove us even more, and it gave us a lot of momentum heading into the next step of the journey. Going through two Ascensions was definitely instrumental to our success.”

Hotspawn: With this win today, you’ve made history because first of all you’re undefeated this whole year. And second, you’ve secured yourselves top three.

What does this mean to you personally?

Francis: “As we came here as the first seed of Pacific, we’re not just here for tourism. We’re here to win the whole thing.”

PURE CINEMA! WE ARE GOING TO OVERTIME! #VALORANTMasters pic.twitter.com/hSj4QfJUZb

— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) March 9, 2026

Hotspawn: Talking about today’s games, on map three you had a huge lead of 9–4, then G2 came back and were up 12–11.

What did it take for you to stay strong and close out the map?

Francis: “In the last map we were winning 9–4. I think the enemy caught up to us because they played really well, and then it became neck and neck. But we believed that if we just play like usual, play like now, we would be able to get the win.”

Hotspawn: There’s been a lot of conversation about Dambi’s duelist and your duelist in this tournament. In this double duelist meta,

How are you able to capitalize on the space that he creates?

Francis: “Other teams really hate facing Dambi because he just goes into the site and creates chaos and mixes things up. All I have to do is just shoot people that appear in my sight.”

Hotspawn: In one line, how would you describe the current meta?

Francis: “When you’re in the server it’s very difficult, but when you’re a viewer it’s very entertaining.”

Hotspawn: Is your main agent usually Yoru, or do you play something else?

What’s your favorite agent and map?

Francis: “I personally like playing Sentinel the most, and my favorite map would have to be Lotus.”

Hotspawn: What’s your favorite Sentinel?

Francis: “Cypher.”

Hotspawn: A lot of fans from Korea have been staying up to watch your games.

Is there anything you want to say to them?

Francis: “The time zone difference is crazy, but despite that I’m really grateful to the fans who stay up and watch our games and send support. I’m really grateful to them, and we’ll try to show an even better performance next time.”

Hotspawn: This is your first Masters event.

How has the VCT Masters Santiago crowd been for you?

Francis: “This is our first major international event, but we played at Ascension Jakarta before and the crowd there was also very passionate. The Chilean crowd here is amazing too. They give a lot of energy and they’ve been awesome.”

Hotspawn: As of the time of this interview, your next opponent is either NRG or Paper Rex.

Which of these teams would you like to play and why?

Francis: “Chances are we’re going to face PRX anyway when we go back to Pacific, so right now I want to face NRG.”

Hotspawn: I have a personal question, out of curiosity:,

Why is your gamer tag Francis?

Francis: “I actually used to have a different IGN, but then I got the sudden urge to change it. I looked up names on the internet and came across Francis.”