“We just do too many mistakes and we lose some crazy rounds” – johnqt on Kickoff elimination

Following Sentinels’ loss to Leviatán and their subsequent elimination from VCT Americas Kickoff, Hotspawn spoke with Sentinels’ Amine “johnqt” Ouarid to reflect on the series, roster changes, meta shifts, and what lies ahead for the team as they look toward Stage 1.

Hotspawn: I know that it was a very tough loss for you. My commiserations. I wanted to ask you about the role swap today with reduxx playing the Waylay and not N4RRATE.

How did that come about?

Johnqt: “It’s just something we’ve tried in practice this past week or after the game against 100 Thieves. We had some time, so we tried different stuff. And I feel like reduxx was comfortable on Waylay, and N4RRATE was comfortable on Chamber and looked good in practice, and we just stuck to it.”

Hotspawn: I think that this meta seems to be leaning very heavily toward Chamber, especially in North America.

Why do you think that is?

Johnqt: “It just feels like the nerf of utility usage helps. Having an agent that can use the Operator and TP can be very aggressive and hard to punish and also kind of lets people express more of their skills. I’m sure a lot of people in the league are more comfortable playing Chamber than the more traditional sentinels or other options. And yeah, I mean, OPing in the game is just very overpowered. And when you have an agent like Chamber, it’s just pretty strong.”

Hotspawn: It’s a new roster for SEN, and you guys are still finding your footing.

What would you say was your biggest challenge in Kickoff?”

Johnqt: “I’m not sure. It’s kind of hard. I feel like today we were letting a lot of games slip away. We were losing a lot of easy rounds. We were making a lot of mistakes. There were some maps we didn’t show up individually, some maps we just made the wrong decisions. Today was kind of hard.

“I feel like we were in control a lot for both maps and we kind of just let it slip away. I think a lot of the 100 Thieves game and this game, we just let it slip away, in my opinion. They were crazy close OTs. On Bind, we lost 12–8. I feel like we lost so many 5v3s, 5v2s. Valorant is just a game of whoever makes the least mistakes wins. I feel like we just do too many mistakes and lose crazy rounds we should always be winning.”

Hotspawn: You were up 12–8 on map two.

What made it difficult to close?

Johnqt: “I think they had better brawling. We missed crucial shots. Even when they were down, they stayed confident and stuck to their game plan. We didn’t play the rounds properly to reach match point. Props to them — they were the better team today.”

Hotspawn: When you’re rebuilding a roster and you have new players coming in, especially from tier two,

How do you help them feel ready for tier one and build team chemistry?

Johnqt: “I’m just trying to be there for my teammates. I try to be flexible so my teammates are comfortable on a lot of maps depending on the roles. We work really hard. We spend eight or nine hours together, then we play ranked together. Probably 12 or 13 hours a day together. I just like to build synergy and cohesion. Sometimes the work doesn’t show right away. Sadly, it hasn’t shown this Kickoff, but hopefully it does in Stage  1.”

Hotspawn: Has it been easier for you not being the IGL, or do you miss it?

Johnqt: “It’s been a new experience. The most important part is winning, and sadly we haven’t been doing that. It’s a tough pill to swallow because the last two Kickoffs I was a finalist and made Masters. Missing the first Masters, it’s the first time I’m experiencing this.

“I did enjoy IGLing a lot. It’s rewarding when you make a good call and see it unfold. But at the end of the day, winning is what matters. But right now it is definitely difficult times since we’re not doing a lot of winning.”

.@NotReduxx with a flashy 4K! pic.twitter.com/IWDVVTuc5v

— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesportsna) February 7, 2026

Hotspawn: What do you want to focus on before Stage 1?

Johnqt: “We need to work hard individually. Everyone needs to be a better player and teammate. Our communication needs to be better when things get chaotic. We’re just not a top-three team right now, and we need to get there.”

Hotspawn: Which teams stand out to you in the Americas right now?

Johnqt: “FURIA has been really good. MIBR too. You can’t count out NRG or G2. 100 Thieves has potential. The top three or four right now are MIBR, FURIA, G2, and NRG. The dark horse is 100 Thieves.”