Gonna use this thread to record my thoughts on how they're looking. So far I'm actually pretty damn optimistic. While their bind is absolutely fucking ATROCIOUS they do have some really good moments of coordination elsewhere. X3B's calling isn't a noticeable downgrade so far & K1ra's crazy. Spitfires does what he does best and full sends his entries--sometimes to his detriment--and with proper util support they all have some sublime trade potential from it. Despite my worries the firepower is definitely there with some exciting cracked moments. Bunt's breach is surprisingly good so far and Delb's still frying, but his lurks on cypher are questionable sometimes so hopefully that improves. There were some goober moments when it came down to their retakes and site holds. However, that's been there since last season and I'm confident they can brush up on that this upcoming year.
AG review thread
it entirely depends on if they can develop proper micro. last year they would fumble some very important moments (mistiming floods, flash plays, whiffing on a single guy, etc) and that culminated into them crashing out when it mattered most. their util is some of the best in the region but it doesn't matter if Spitfires full sprints into site before the enemy anchor is flashed/stunned
Is this the weibo announcment post you're talking about? I don't think it talked about his in game ideas
https://weibo.com/7876248894/5090147343534949
Alright well while a little sad that the games were winnable against XLG I'm not disappointed. Team fights look decent like last season, K1ra's actually pretty good & atm X3B can pull his weight firepower-wise despite igling (emphasis on 'at the moment'). They look way better than my initial expectations and I'm confident they can silent grind pretty efficiently with Ego at the helm. Gonna have to see more of their gameplay after next week but as of right now I'm optimistic!
I think the team will do the same as they did this year tbh. Some moments of greatness but won't be able to compete with the top teams (EDG, FPX, TE). K1ra might be a better player than Monk but there wasn't a 'big' upgrade to the team to put them over any of the teams they lost to in 2024.
At most maybe they'll make it to champs through points, hope Ego stays though there were rumors of him going to JDG because he's friends with sword9.
I agree with how they're probably still gonna be middle pack, but assuming everything goes well I'm sure their ceiling will surprise everyone. They went from bottom feeders to middle-pack through basic fundamental improvement and not direct firepower or relying on set-plays, which is the reason why I think they have better potential longevity.
To be fair it was China 2024 middle-pack, but going from 0 to like a 35 is pretty impressive with what was seen as a roster of afterthoughts. They're the only CN team I would say that had consistent visual improvement throughout the entirety of the season barring FPX
you put spitfires on fucking SOVA, player on CYPHER, and X3B on flash initiator????? Testing out roles and experiment with lineup is good and all but to bring literally 3 people from Qing Jiu Club after signing their coach screams full on NEPOTISM. There's absolutely no fucking reason to justify why both Monk and Bunt aren't playing. I'm calling bullshit
You mean that they're partnered, right? X3B's signing is reasonable and K1ra obviously has the talent and the form to compete, but if it's true that they are professionally connected it still doesn't give a justification to put player out there too. Spitfires isn't inconsistent enough to get rid of him and putting DelB on duelist when they're both playing with him is a crime. I really don't see what Septem's envisioning
Okay ykw this is chill I like this roster. I have no idea what to expect with Lsn but if they're trying to go with the Crossfire experience igling I'm not too against it. Just have at least one of Bunt and Monk alongside K1ra and you can cook. The only problem I see is who's going to play duelist but I assume DeLb's gonna take it up and if he does then they definitely have a solid roster individually
He's basically Icy with better mechanics, but he just so happens to be in the region where explosive mechanics are the standard. He does his job perfectly fine but he has a tendency to never really give his team a significant advantage with his plays against decent teams. Overall DeLb can probably fill his shoes fine if he switches to duelist
From the roster video (if it's to be trusted) it seems like LSN will be igling, so that's great! I'm excited for Fire3 because if his stint on IMAY is anything to go by then he's excellent at developing and training talent. Yet again my big question is who's going to be on duelist, since K1ra also flexes Omen, but I'm still going to assume that DeLb is going to flex onto it too whenever they want to go double controller. Things actually seem to be looking up for the long term!
As grim as it was looking in the offseason there's a solid foundation right now. The numbers don't show it but the individual player quality's pretty good. Unfortunately the team play is lacking, however the ideas are definitely there and I can see things start to turn around by the time stage 1 starts. I trust Fire3 and X3B to keep the lineup grounded and improve to a decent international standard by the time the season ends. So far I'm still pretty optimistic
WHAT HAPPENED. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TEAM I LOVE????? at this point the season will be successful if we're not BOTTOM THREEEEEEE. everyone simply looks like they're getting less coherent every game. was the abyss against XLG a fluke???? do they care about this tourney???? I guess like every time before we'll see, because I'm REALLY starting to think that shit isn't gonna go smoothly ANYTIME SOON. PLEASE FIRE3 SAVE US IN SPLIT 1 PLEASEEEEEEE
they looked GOOD last year. they had PROTOCOLS. they had ANTI-STRATS. they had DISCIPLINE. most importantly they were FUN TO WATCH because they were ACTIVELY IMPROVING EVERY WEEK. you could literally see the gameplay improve as it went on!!! I still stand by the opinion that the players are solid, but for some god forsaken reason they are playing worse than they ever have. I'm PRAYING that Fire3 can get something going because it's not looking good
alright well they got someone new now. i have no idea who this is (not on their academy) but we ball ig
I don't necessarily disagree with benching him. I'm more confused with what they've been doing with the role shuffles. trying to find K1ra's superstar role is good, but they have Bunt who can play both smokes and initiators at a pretty consistent level, but they have Bunt trying out duelists? Monk pretty much only plays initiators since they have K1ra and deLb who both flex onto smokes and sentinels respectively. The only thing I can think that makes sense is that they're trying to build ppl around K1ra and deLb but it devolves into them throwing shit at a wall and seeing what sticks (or at least that's what it looks like). I think they're in a really awkward transition period where they don't have the infrastructure yet to facilitate their younger talent scouting, so they're still trying to build with the previous roster iteration on top of the new kids they've brought into the lineup and it creates a garbled mess of ideas and messy execution. It doesn't help that they had limited time in the offseason with all the changes in staff. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
What I can tell you is that Spitfires had no intention of acquiring a Duelist. When he entered the transfer market, no one considered him. Meanwhile, AG's academy team coach revealed that AG had actually secured a Duelist candidate and even paid the transfer fee, but the player ultimately backed out. This forced them to transition K1ra from the Controller role to Duelist and sign a short-term contract with TZH
alright so my suspicions are correct that shit got immensely more complicated outside the game, but what does that ultimately mean for the roles now that TZH is gone? Bunt is also on the market so not having another primary controller player is weird. I assume Bai is going to fill duelist and K1ra back on smokes (also why did Bai change his alias? Carl was a better name)
i projected AG roster configuration would be: delb on Sentinel, bai as Duelist, K1ra anchoring Controller, monk handling Initiator. The inclusion of Player suggests potential flex assignments - either Player assuming Sentinel role (based on his Sentinel gameplay during FGC and Predator league) with delb transitioning to flex, or Player directly slotting into flex. Regarding the ID change from Carl to bai, it's particularly intriguing given his legal name Zhang Zeyang. AG's welcome message containing '小白' (literally 'Little White', colloquially implying 'rookie' in Chinese gaming circles) might indicate branding strategy. The organization is expected to release an explanatory video addressing both the roster logic and this nomenclature decision.
Makes sense. I'm really curious to see how they handle all the roles along with the igling. Player isn't bad but imo he doesn't really add anything that other options would bring at the moment, but I guess that's why they're letting him cook some more in the academy. I need to hop onto weibo and bilibili more so I can have a better idea on wtf is going on T_T
sry frgot told you
When participating in some recent events in China, AG has been bringing Player along. I'm not sure if this indicates AG plans to field Player in the first split. Last year, AG's player Sword9 mentioned the organization had an exceptionally talented young prospect who has now come of age, but we still don't know the identity of this young player."
i really don't give a fuck at this point if they go 0/5. they develop young and upcoming talent mainly so they don't really have to expend a lot for their rosters. most of their players are developed through academy so they're dirt cheap compared to tier 1 diaspora. also now I have absolutely zero idea who they're going to have starting. this basically reaffirms my belief that Bunt is not getting out there, but this also puts deLb's place into question since the roles are all over the place now
Perhaps there is good news, AG seems to have signed Renai, the former Rainbow Six Chinese champion, who is considered the best player in CN Rainbow Six and a former EDG academy of Valorant. the infor mention he will play at stage 2. i think he is a good player, used challenge 90% win rate to radient in Asian rank.
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