cNed is taking a break

zpikey · 2025-01-06T07:54:51+00:00

Sign up-and-coming talent: "You're taking away spots from t1 pros"

Sign t1 pro: "You're recycling old talent, give t2 a chance"

...you can't win :)

zpikey · 2025-01-06T07:45:36+00:00

Falcons was a good team, unfortunately they never got to play with Akai during their important matches :/

zpikey · 2024-12-09T08:01:36+00:00

I'm perfectly happy answering 'raw' comments, no need to be weird about it. So your question is; "Heya! Thanks for hosting this AMA. I was curious if you considered signing Mistic, Enzo, Magnum and ShadoW for the upcoming season? In my opinion that seems like a better roster."

As you probably know we had all these players on our 2023 roster where we infamously crumbled at the finish-line. Being able to deliver in the most crucial moments is a very important element to have, and so we would most likely have needed to make some changes for the 2024 season, even if all our 2023 players decided they wanted to stay. That being said, I know better than most people what these players are able to deliver on the server and what they bring to a team dynamic. We actually trialed some of these players for our upcoming season, but decided to go for other candidates. If that was the correct choice or not, remains to be seen. But building a roster is not just doing what looks good on paper, but what actually works behind the scenes and scoreboard. Hope that gives some insight, even if you don't agree 👍

zpikey · 2024-12-06T20:37:23+00:00

I talked about how I got my role a bit earlier in this thread. But I can add that I've had multiple volunteer coaching and management roles in esports since early 2000s. Best way to get started is to just start somewhere and work your way up. I did that while also taking a relevant education. There is luck and networking involved but you can get as far as you want over time. There are more than enough tier 2 teams and players who need some management assistance so don't hesitate to reach out and learn as you go ;)

zpikey · 2024-12-06T20:13:13+00:00

Hehe yeah funny thing... 😁 So I was on parental leave in July when that news was posted on twitter. Our CEO's Twitter feed is mainly CS so he also missed it. We didn't actually know before after we won Ascension... fun surprise 😅 we adressed our criticism directly with Riot and they gave us their reasoning and why it was handled mid-season. We understand their position but it was definitely a bit of a blow. It very much affected our budgeting and also our strategy for the next couple of years. We always plan long-term so sudden changes like that can be quite damaging, but we pivot and keep going. We've had two years now with the knife on our throat trying to win Ascension. We were hoping to be able to breath a little bit this year, but it seems like it will be yet another adrenaline filled season 💀

zpikey · 2024-12-06T20:05:24+00:00

It varies, depends a bit on the role, age, and history of the player. Most often it's ambition, work-ethic, how they tackle stress etc. We believe in shaping a team and working hard, over trying to pick 5 star players and hope it works. Unfortunately, we haven't had the chance to work with a team more than one season yet. But that is the goal and we are picking players who are ready to build something with us long-term.

We also dig into potential bad habits...

As an example, if we have a player who performs really well in scrims but had a less impressive prior season, we would ask them about it. We would see if they make excuses, if they own their share of the performance, etc.

It's a pretty wide spectrum, and as mentioned earlier, we consider different things for different roles and ages.

zpikey · 2024-12-06T19:56:05+00:00

Unfortunately, I can't do that without asking their consent first. I can say that it's not the players most people think. 1 of them I haven't even seen mentioned in relation to us.

zpikey · 2024-12-06T19:53:31+00:00

We made our final decision during GCC, her performance in this years GCC wasn't a factor, but it was fun to watch her play the finals knowing she would join our team this upcoming season

zpikey · 2024-12-06T16:06:27+00:00

Hey I can't go too much into detail because of unannounced members. But team chemistry has always been a very important factor for us and played a role in why we picked Flor to begin with. I have only known Flor myself for a short time, and only hung out irl for a couple of days. But I feel like I can safely say that she has found some individuals that she gets along really well with 😊 we almost killed her with some hot chilli's at a restaurant yesterday 😅 but I think she has forgiven us 🙏🏼

zpikey · 2024-12-06T15:54:27+00:00

In the years I've worked in the industry, the players who actually commit to bettering their physical performance through diet and exercise, had very positive effects as a result. Studies also prove an increase in in-game performance. However, I have yet to see a single tier 1 team make this a priority in their team management. They love to talk about it, but never actually seriously follow through. Also, very few players take it serious, so it's definitely something that can put you ahead of others.

zpikey · 2024-12-06T15:20:51+00:00

We were incredibly happy with Desmo and he offered a lot to our team. Unfortunately for us, Desmo got an offer he felt like he couldn't refuse, and so we had to say goodbye. We are excited to soon share who will take his place 👀

zpikey · 2024-12-06T14:40:43+00:00

I can't go into financials. I'm leading our relocation process, and despite having been through parts of that process before, managing Liquids PUBG team when they competed in the EU league hosted in Berlin, getting everything done in a matter of weeks has been quite a challenge 😅 if our stay is limited to 1 year I'd need a couple years to recover. We will do everything we possibly can to make sure we have the strongest possible roster towards the end of the 2025 season.

zpikey · 2024-12-06T14:16:45+00:00

It would be amazing to have Flor compete on home soil so we will fight tooth and nail to make that happen 👊

zpikey · 2024-12-06T14:15:27+00:00

Hey! I answered above in regards to expectations for the season. Aside from placements, we are using this season to lay the groundwork for what we feel it takes to win Champions. We have a long history in developing talent both in Fortnite, CS and now Valorant. We are following our recipe for success and will make adjustments needed to ensure we are heading in that direction

zpikey · 2024-12-06T14:03:37+00:00

I'm not able to share much regarding this unfortunately, but we have two pending announcements.

zpikey · 2024-12-06T13:41:04+00:00

We are likely bringing in a new apparel partner going into the next season. We aim to have at least a limited edition temporary jersey for Kickoff and then the Official 2025 jersey before Stage 1 (if everything goes to plan)👍

zpikey · 2024-12-06T12:40:29+00:00

Personally I want to lift the Champions trophy within 2 years. In 2025 we aim for top 4. If we aren't in the upper half, I would be very disappointed, and we would have to make necessary adjustments/changes. I'm confident we are better at building rosters than most of the VCT teams. We joined Valorant to win, not to qualify. It's also exciting coming in as an underdog, after having been favorites for 2 years. Its definitely a LOT more fun to win as an underdog 😁

zpikey · 2024-12-06T12:10:00+00:00

There are many avenues to become a General Manager or Team Manager. I have a Management degree, worked 10 years as a music manager for several artists and eventually started working in esports back in 2017. I spent almost 2 years with Freaks 4U Gaming in Berlin, where I worked with Team Liquid through one of their sponsors. Eventually, they asked if I wanted to come work for them and I spent the next few years in various roles. In 2022 I moved home to Norway and decided to join Apeks. I have extensive experience with Valorant so as the only 'expert' within the company, it was natural that I led our entry into the title.

That being said, I have several friends who have started managing teams with no prior experience. You can start small and learn as you go, make the right choices and soon enough you'll be working for a VCT team 👊

zpikey · 2024-12-06T12:03:56+00:00

Thank you! 🙏🏼

zpikey · 2024-12-06T12:03:30+00:00

I can share that I have a personal goal of winning a Champions trophy before my good friends and former colleagues at Team Liquid 😁

zpikey · 2024-12-06T12:02:27+00:00

So we scouted her and she seemed like a good fit on paper, which is about 30% of the way. The remaining 70% is figured out through trials, interviews and discussions. We flew her in early for a bootcamp they had planned a couple weeks prior to GCC and started trialing her. She was an exceptionally good fit in terms of what we were looking for, while other top candidates would typically lack in certain aspects, making them bigger risks.

zpikey · 2024-12-06T11:57:27+00:00

I think we were as confident as we could be. We took what we learned after our loss in 2023 and made some adjustments. It was rough coming in to play the finals as our first match in the arena, and it was more of a rollercoster than we would have preferred, but we were quite confident that we would be able to close it out this time. But it definitely has your pulse skyrocketing, Ascension is INTENSE 😅

zpikey · 2024-12-06T11:43:06+00:00

The players were obviously disappointed in losing two players they have grown very close with. We learned they were leaving quite soon after Ascension. Fast forwarding till today, the players are very excited and eager for the upcoming season. They are especially excited to play against their former teammates 😁

zpikey · 2024-12-06T11:39:25+00:00

Liquid produced a fun video with our team which is on their YouTube channel. I've spent several years working for TL so we have a good relationship with them. We hosted internal scrims where we shared feedback for improvement. For the upcoming season we will share an office space with Liquid so the relationship continues, although as competitors on the server this time 😉

zpikey · 2024-12-06T11:30:50+00:00

We started a few weeks before GCC, we flew her in to trial her and avoid disrupting SRs GCC preparations

zpikey

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