The next time Gen.G plays in the Valorant Champions Tour they’ll be in an elimination game against 100 Thieves. However, Anthony ‘gMd’ Guimond isn’t concerned about his team’s prospects of making a deep Masters run.
After the first weekend, there’s only six teams left who are competing for the top billing at Masters.
One of those is Gen.G — an underdog in a sea of champions looking to make their mark ahead of Valorant Champions in December.
They started the tourney with a 1-2 loss to first-seed Team Envy, and have been traversing the lower bracket jungle since.
It wasn’t the start that Gen.G or gMd wanted. But despite the early setback, the Canadian says he remains confident that his team is “ready for anyone” in their do-or-die situation.
Gen.G’s wake-up call, and overcoming history
With a lineup that has ‘Shawn’ O’Riley, Danny ‘Huynh,’ Michael ‘MkaeL’ De Luca, and Kenneth ‘Koosta’ Suen, gMd likes the amount of firepower Gen.G brings to the table.
But the team has been riddled with small mistakes from comms to site executions, leaving them worse for wear in Valorant’s unforgiving “MR13” format.
“Ever since we lost to TSM [in VCT Challengers 3], it was kind of like a wake-up call for us. We wanted to do better,” gMd told Dexerto.
The team was served an 0-2 thrashing by Matthew ‘Wardell’ Yu and co., sending them to the lower bracket of the qualifier.
Since then it’s been a process, and Gen.G have been steadily ramping with their best yet to come.
“Sometimes you got to give them some time,” gMd said. “I think we’ve been performing pretty well. We’re hungry for more.”
Gen.G are still a strong team by every metric, but they’re in a field with only the best in North America with FaZe Clan, Sentinels, Team Envy, Luminosity, and 100 Thieves remaining.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
“Honestly I’m not scared of anyone walking up on koosta. I’m not scared of anyone walking up on huynh, MkaeL, myself, Shawn. Shawn, definitely not,” gMd said.
“Obviously firepower matters, but at the level we’re on right now, I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.”
After losing their opening match in both Challengers 3 and Masters playoffs, Gen.G finds itself facing off against 100 Thieves again in a lower bracket elimination game.
In that last bout, Peter ‘Asuna’ Mazuryk owned the server, while the rest of the server — Thieves and Gen.G respectively — struggled to keep up. It’s been less than two weeks since that 2-1 series, but preparation has been well-underway.
“If you’re playing against 100 Thieves, it’s going to be slower pace. You’ve got to be ready for longer rounds,” gMd said.
“The mid-round will matter a bit more. Like a mid-round against a slower team matters more obviously. I think it’s going to be a different preparation for sure. We just got to be better for them.”
Speaking of their development since coming together, gMd is ready for the mental battle that comes with playing a team that “walked all over you” and think’s Gen.G will be better off for it.
- Read more: TSM announce new all-women Valorant team
“Even if you think you’re the better team, they might [be thinking] that too, and they walk over you,” he said.
“We’re ready for everyone. I think people kind of count us as a better team now. We’ve had some issues as everybody does, but we’re back and we’re ready for anyone. For real.”
Gen.G are going to look to change their fortune this time against 100T on March 19 in their Lower Bracket standoff.