UK Valorant player Jack ‘Br0die’ Emmott has told Esports News UK that our region has a lack of in-game leaders (IGLs).
Speaking to us and other members of the media in a press conference ahead of the latest Red Bull Home Ground tournament, which got underway earlier today and runs until Sunday November 7th 2021, he said that we need more IGLs to step up.
“In terms of UK Valorant and what’s coming up, I think there’s a lot of talent around in the UK,” he said. “I just think there aren’t too many IGLs (in-game leaders) to lead them. So they’re all trying to get together but I think they’re a bit lost.
“I think someone needs to step up and become an IGL to make a great team.”
Br0die is an IGL himself and is part of Tenstar’s mainly UK roster, who won the ESL Premiership earlier this year and are now taking part in this tournament. At the time of writing they are currently 2-0.
Tenstar are one of 16 teams in the Red Bull Home Ground, along with other UK organisations such as Fnatic and LDN UTD, and other teams with UK players like Team Liquid.
Fnatic also have another solid UK IGL in Boaster.
Other sides include Navi, FPX, Gambit, NiP and more.
“We’ve been preparing for this tournament for the last couple of weeks,” Br0die added. “We’ve lost a couple of games to some lesser teams that aren’t in the event, so it’s been a bumpy road. But we’ve been practicing a lot, it’s been going super well and we’re really prepared for it.”
In terms of what Tenstar will be doing after Home Ground, given they’ve not qualified for the first Valorant Champions tournament, he said: “There’s going to be off-season for a lot of teams that aren’t in Champions, obviously. So there’s a bit of time to have off, maybe time to recreate your strats, your team, compositions and come back fresh in the new year.
“So there’s two months til the start of the year and hopefully there will be an announcement soon on when VCT is gonna happen.”
“I think there’s a lot of Valorant talent in the UK, but there aren’t too many IGLs to lead them. So they’re all trying to get together but I think they’re a bit lost. I think someone needs to step up and become an IGL to make a great team.”
Br0die, Tenstar
Br0die – who grew up in Sidmouth and started playing games at seven years old on the original Xbox, before becoming a pro CSGO player, also shared his thoughts on the latest Valorant map, Fracture, and why ranked isn’t great compared to pro play.
“You go into a ranked game and, it’s just like, you’re expecting a bad experience. You come in you get insta-locked Jett, Reyna, you get into the game and start speaking, and no one is speaking back to you,” he said. “It’s like, well, this is another game, go fast and re-queue for the next game!”
On Fracture, he commented: “I think it’s super unique, I think the way you can have two T-spawns and both bomb sites can be attacked instantly… there aren’t really any other map in an FPS game like it.
“It’s super hard to learn and get used to. Everyone is used to two bomb sites and maybe two or three entries, but instantly into the start of the round they could be anywhere and everywhere, and it’s a bit crazy!”
Other players spoke to the media in yesterday’s press conference.
Host Yinsu Collins posted a handy Twitter thread rounding up some of the players’ views:
Magnum, who plays for London-based Fnatic, said Fnatic were “pretty confident and excited” going into the competition, and are “ready to show where we’re standing now”.
Boo from LDN UTD, who recently stepped in for Team Heretics, also added: “Tournaments like this are good because the Valorant VCT series are pretty tough to play in, if you lose you get a break for a couple of months and you don’t know what to do, you don’t know what to train for, so tournaments like this help.”
You can watch Red Bull Home Ground live on twitch.tv/redbull and youtube.com/redbullgaming from 12pm GMT each day, from today until Sunday November 7th 2021.
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
