UK Valorant pro player Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett says he doesn’t believe there’s any pressure on Fnatic as the VCT 2023 EMEA Playoffs get underway.
He was speaking in a press conference ahead of the Playoffs, which are getting underway now with Giants vs FUT Esports.
Fnatic topped the regular season table with nine wins and zero losses. They only lost a single map to BBL.
Boaster told Full Esports about pressure: “I don’t think there’s any pressure on us. The pressure I did have was after the first Iceland event, and after that I’ve had enough losses… I don’t care if we lose. I want to win, and it’s nicer to win. So we’re prepping hard, trying not to get complacent, and not to underestimate anyone. That’s kind of how we live and how we roll.
“Fortunately, my teammates are sick so that’s also quite nice as well. We’re not ill, I meant sick at the game!”
He added to Strafe Esports about being undefeated in the regular season but still finding things to improve on: “Even though we’ve been winning, you can always find things to improve on. If there are anti-strats, I’m confident in how we play and how others play. I watch enough VoDs and play enough to know kind of what the meta is right now. Nothing can be too crazy, well, maybe Yoru on Split! But I’m experienced enough now.”
On the mentality side of things, Boaster told Fragster: “We’re gonna do our best to make the win [at VCT 2023 EMEA Playoffs] as easy as possible, but we can’t guarantee anything, we can’t guarantee what the enemy team will do on the day or how we’ll show up on the day.
“Our practice and mentality and what we do for preparation will help us be the most consistent we can be. I don’t want to say too much as I don’t want these boys next to me to have any fire against us under their belly! So let’s have a good game and I’ll see you on the server, whoever it is.
“Every game is so stressful, but you’ve got to manage it the best you can. We’re good enough players, so as long as we’re communicating well, we can win anything.”
Boaster, Fnatic
Boaster also revealed the team he’d like to play in the future: “I’d like to play Cloud9, because so many people have been talking about NA vs EMEA, and I’d love to play them. I want to knock out another NA team, personally.”
And lastly, Sebastian Parkkila from Expressen asked Boaster what his Swedish teammate Leo has brought to the team since he joined.
“Skill, discipline and that winner’s mindset,” Boaster said. “With the two new players we have picked up, Chronicle is a really good practiced teammate, in practice he’s the best teammate I’ve had.
“When it comes to overall mindset, I think Leo has the strongest mindset of a winner. I think he has Lionel Messi on his desktop background, he just wants to win and will do whatever it takes to win. He bicep curls 20kg dumbbells at the gym, and I’m thinking: ‘Damn, that guy’s gonna look scary on stage’. So he brings the fear factor.”
You can watch the full press conference here:
VCT 2023 EMEA Playoffs
The VCT 2023 EMEA Playoffs are underway now with Giants vs FUT Esports.
Fnatic’s run kicks off on Tuesday May 24th from 7pm, when they will face the winner of Giants and FUT Esports. Then, at the same time, Navi will play the winner of Liquid and Vitality.
Now the six teams will compete to become the first ever VCT 2023 EMEA Playoffs champion.
The top four teams from the playoffs will also progress to VCT 2023 Masters Tokyo in June.
Related article: Tears of joy for UK Valorant star Boaster as Fnatic pull off stunning comeback to win VCT Lock In and lift major trophy
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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.
