An opening win against G2 was the perfect start for Karmine Corp at the Esports World Cup, however defeat to Masters Toronto winners Paper Rex meant that their third matchup was a must-win. The French organisation was able to stave off elimination through a tricky 2-1 win over Bilibili Gaming. Hotspawn spoke to KC IGL Matias “Saadhak” Delipetro for an interview after his side moved on to the EWC VALORANT playoffs.
Hotspawn: How have you found the EWC VALORANT event so far?
Saadhak: It’s been an interesting event. It’s a different country. And the thing that I would say affects me the most is the heat. It’s so hot in here. Wow, guys, you have no idea how hot it is outside. And sometimes we have to move in between buildings and it’s like: “Oh my God”.
Other than that, it’s been amazing. The players lounge, the PCs, the setup, it’s been really good. And the crowd, of course.
KC are now seeing some success this year with your EWC run so far.
Do you think the team is finally reaching its potential?
I would say: not really. But there’s some things that are starting to click for us that is making the difference, for sure. But I would say no, not 100%.
Who do you see as the strongest sides at the tournament?
Of course, we have to talk about the obvious team. It has to be Paper Rex right now. And Fnatic is in a super good shape, but I wouldn’t even put down NRG or BBL. These teams are really, really strong.
And for sure, I’m forgetting more teams. I think EDG is amazing. Of course Gen.G is an amazing team. But yeah, you can see there’s so much talent and it’s going to be so hard to win. But that’s what makes it beautiful to win also, you know, because all of these teams are so, so strong.
As a French org, surely reaching VALORANT Champions in Paris would be a huge achievement for KC.
How useful could this momentum from EWC be in finding the Stage 2 finish needed to get there?
I would say: “Yes, 100%”. Because if we start winning and winning and winning, we build that momentum. And at the same time, it’s going to give us confidence:
“OK, guys, we’re actually insane players.”
“We actually can reach further in tournaments.”
“We can actually win.”
And for us, that is super important. And if we can carry this momentum to Stage 2, that would be insane, to be honest.
What was it that drew you to KC/EMEA this year in order to make the move from Americas?
I would say it was more of a personal standpoint because I wanted to change something in myself. I wanted to change my environment. I don’t like to be in the same place forever because I feel like changes are important in life. And after having this opportunity from KC, for me, it was obvious, I had to go there. It was more like, they were showing me that they’re willing to change for me, to accommodate me, to accommodate my family, even. So for me it was like: “Okay, yes, I have to go there”. They are insane. The administration is really good, the players. I went also because of Engh, because I really admire him as a coach.
What are your thoughts on Corrode?
I would say the map is really, really interesting because it’s kind of like a short mid. So you have this scrimmage, fight, these 1v1s, 2v2s, so we reveal and, blah, blah, blah.
Those types of maps, I love them. I love them because they’re short mid, so it means fights and it means like you can either split A super fast or you can do a bunch of different plays. So, so far, yeah, I’m not going to go into too many details, but it’s feeling super nice, super nice to play. It’s feeling, at least for me, natural. So yeah, yeah, I really like Corrode.
Who is your VALORANT GOAT, and top 10 players?
VALORANT GOAT for me: FNS, 100%. We went head-to-head: he destroyed me a couple of times, I destroyed him a couple of times. But at the same time, I still think he’s an insane player.
Top 10 players, ooh, you got me on that one bro. Without order, I will start with the Brazilians. Of course, my really good friend Less, I would put there. Aspas, of course, insane player. All the people that won Champs: pANcada, Sacy, me — I would even put myself in my top 10.
Then I would say, oof, so many people. I would put Boaster, I would put Derke, KangKang, so many- t3xture, you know, like so many people- Meteor. So many people I would put in the top 10. So I don’t know. I can go on and on and on and on.
Is there any player you’d like to play against that you haven’t yet had the chance to?
No, not really. I think I’ve been long enough to play against everyone I wanted to play against. But it’s good to see new talents coming up. Like you see NRG with these new talents, you see BBL with these new talents. So yeah, 100% I’m super down to face them and have fun.
