Impressive. Bunch of friends and I signed up for a 5K/10K in September. Hoping to run a sub 40 at least but probably gonna aim closer to 30-35 if I can ~ never been a runner and had asthma growing up but it does feel good to run even though sometimes I feel like dying and I'm nowhere near fit enough to do the full 5k without some walking time (I think I can do about 1km before I have to pace myself and walk for like 200 m) but we're slowly but surely getting there.

Go to bed.

Horrible if true. Wasn't a fan nor a hater, but it was nice to see someone from the GC scene make it to Tier 1 even if it was only a short stint. Why is it always young and impressionable VALORANT players who can't control their emotions nor respect boundaries.

I won't even comment on the aspect of her being trans, this is purely a sick individual if true but I know people are going to twist the narrative on this. What a shame.

How about you just keep TALON as they are. They literally just formed this new iteration, just give them some time and experience. Thyyy is a star player but just inexperienced. Give them time and they'll make champs.

Any TLN Academy enjoyers got some inside information on what roster they're currently cooking. Randomly stumbled across the GE Fight Night that they participated in and it seems some role swaps and player changes are undergoing. Is this just trials or are Leywin and Teletubbies real players on the ranked leaderboards or smth.

Absolute Cinema of a semi-final clash. The PSG - Arsenal leg put me to sleep but these 2 games have been insanely fun to watch as a semi-neutral. As I'm an avid Madridista I was of course rooting for Inter but god damn Yamal is insane and whenever he has the ball it's an immediate threat and at 17, still being that agile and shifty after 120 minutes on the pitch is mad.

On the other hand, Inter looked on the back leg much of the game when Barca hit the kill switch at half time but their heart was in it and they converted every chance they got. Dumfries, what a player, I usually have the opinion that he's all physicality and pace but no brain but seriously, he is clinical in his assists and rarely made any mistakes these past 2 games. Shout out Sommer too, some very important saves (albeit pretty poor finishing by Barca).

Obviously in hindsight. But likely Frost wouldn't have reacted in the same manner if he knew it was a mistranslation. Not saying Frost shouldn't have double checked the translation and acted in a different manner.

It's a diss to Frost but also can perhaps be taken out of context in such a way like "your mother wasn't capable enough to teach you manners" or if his mother is especially a touchy subject (I don't know this of course) then I'm sure that could spark some anger. That being said, even with a mistranslation, it isn't all that much to get so petty over especially when Frost knows he's an abrasive personality and if he can't take a little heat back then that's on him.

I think this is probably stacked upon previous years/seasons and this was perhaps a final straw or something idek.

This is my main issue with Frost. While Frost might be perfectly right or have a strong belief in his stance, I believe as a coach he should consider the team themselves and the knock on effects his actions will have on both his team and players and audiences. Koreans (not all obviously) are notorious for being highly racist and xenophobic, especially to South East Asians. The Thai players and staff have nothing to do with this issue yet they are getting berated by racist comments and while it's obviously not Frost's fault that some Koreans behave in this manner, he should have considered that his actions will have consequences on more than just himself.

Perhaps Frost could not hold it any longer but this seemed too petty for me. I also think the Korean fans and staff have a right to be mad at FROST, but ONLY Frost since he's the only one who has ever been vocal or said anything about the matter. Overall this situation has spiraled out of some petty drama and RIOT needs to take immediate action.

NA on top!!!! Pacific was getting stale anyways.

I use it to play cross-region with my friends. I'm in EU and without VPN would get like 190, 180 and like 150 on Singapore, HK and Mumbai respectively but with EXITLAG my ping is reduced by like 20 ms which is pretty significant since the difference between 190 - 170 - 130 is INSANE.

I will say it likely can fix routing issues but probably won't fix instability a whole lot. Definitely give the free trial a go and see how it changes things, it's different for everyone but I've mostly had positive experiences with it.

I'm inconsolable rn. We are never gonna break this curse.

Nephh didnt play with Yay, why would he tag him?

I'm a TALON fan through and through but I was cheering so hard for RRQ. This isn't even a KR vs SEA thing, I just want to see SEA players on the top level again and RRQ is a great mix of Indonesian, Vietnamese and honorary Southeast Asian in Jemkin (Russian). I also really love the coaching staff for this team in EWOK and Warbirds and this team seems like such a fun team to root for with personalities like Monyet and Jemkin.

GEN.G looks so strong so I was honestly scared for the BOOM game and ended up being right but I didn't think it would be that dominant and GENG's current form definitely looks like the top Korean team atm (You can never doubt Munchkin). Sad TALON lost but seeing a strong team like BOOM also get streamrolled gives me hope and I think its highly possible we see another SEA team in Toronto.

yay still has a chance so at least be fair or post it once EG has actually been eliminated.

At this rate EMEA aint even gonna play.

EZ

Thailand

garnetS (Duelist) / Primmie (Duelist)
Crws (IGL)
Killua (Flex)
Jitboys (Sentinel)
sScary (Controller) / Sephiroth (Controller)

Coach: Leaf (HC), MYM (AC)

Honestly too many good Thai combinations and players that I don't even know how to construct but I wanted a nice mix of players.

Indonesians are showcasing dominance. I feel like more Thais would be in the league if they spoke better English simply because of the mechanical skill. While Filipinos are talented, I think being able to comm in English is their advantage.

Dominance in not making it out groups ;_;

Todays games mean nothing. Seeds are already locked.

I never really measured it but at 17-18 I was around 178 cm and currently at the ripe old age of 23, I'm 183 cm but I was a late bloomer in general.

All good man, there are racists and imbeciles in every country.

14 inch laptop monitor, 60 hz, 200 fps > and constantly playing on 170 ms to play with friends back home.

Luckily I'm just a casual now who only 5 stacks when I have time, I don't think 15-16 year old me could handle being hardstuck plat/diamond when I was GE in CSGO and GM in Overwatch. Though when I did go home for a break I peaked Ascendant so Unc still has it somewhat.

Could be Frost or Jovi, both coaches cook their own comps for the maps but credit to Crws, the team and the coaches.

I want ZETA to win, but I don't want TENTEN to. I don't support racist mfers.

Unlucky.

ZETA match is voided in my books despite ZETA looking very good. Jitboys was trialling as IGL and the team environment was terrible because Crws had just lost his father (and as a result flew back to Thailand and the team was unable to scrim with their IGL that week) and the team did not feel comfortable making him call as a result of this. This week, Crws is back to IGLing and called a great game against T1 exploiting the weaknesses and I hope he continues to remain confident in his calling.

RRQ look strong but TALON did in fact look extremely lost but seemed to pick back up against NS. Therefore I think the game against ZETA would've been way closer if TLN was on their game. A 4-1 stage if they had beaten ZETA is not bad at all after a tough loss in the 2nd week to the strongest team in group OMEGA and learning from it.

This is a new roster even though the young players are close friends and this is their first time at Tier 1 so cut them some slack. This team is already displaying insane firepower and teamwork with discipline improving week by week (likely as a result of a unified language). Frost and Jovi have started introducing more execute heavy strats and the team is carrying it out well so it's all a work in progress but the improvement is gradual but very evident. This is not the same team as they were with ban and Governor ~ they have eliminated the language barrier among the players and brought in insane talents and I blame the inconsistent performances on lack of experience rather than player issues.

TALON will be strong, whether they make it to Masters, I do not know but I think they will be way more improved from Stage 2 and Champs and will be looking to qualify.

Governor. MY GOAT.

Incredibly sad situation to be in, a loss is tough on anyone especially someone you hold so dear. RIP to Crw's father and I hope he won't take this loss to ZETA too hard. The team did not look like themselves and that much is apparent but how much can we attribute this to the IGL having a tough time, the younger players not knowing how to step up, we'll never know.

No other choice tbf. Such short notice to pick up a new player that can comm in Japanese and fits the duelist role (with ability to compete in Korea without a VISA).

If we don't choke and everyone is genuinely locked in and fraggin could be 2 - 0. Since we can't win map 1s, 2 -1 for TALON.

Meow ex BOOM coach, now that he's gone BOOM has levelled up incredibly while Meow has gone to Team Secret and they are currently winless.

Its APAC's time in general. BOOM has dos9 and RRQ has CRAZYGUY and JEMKIN. I'm all for it too, Pacific competitiveness has consistently been one of the most highly contested and every team is levelling up (except a few...) so I'm genuinely so excited to see the teams that make it to Masters and how they do on an international stage. The Korean teams will bounce back I trust, RRQ and BOOM look damn good, TALON is getting there (RRQ game doesn't count btw) and the rest of the teams have such talented rosters that might still need some work.

Mb, I thought it was dos9 on IGL since I remember hearing that. Well, Indo teams when Flipz is not on IGL >>>>>

Bro is playing off superstition and not actual gameplay. BOOM and RRQ look damn solid, some mistakes are inevitable but literally every team in the world has those from time to time. If you cannot see the level up of these 2 teams then you're cooked. DRX has some role issues now that Flashback has taken a step back for whatever reason that may be, but lets not forget that was literally week 1 and they had to try something new. Obviously they need to keep Free1ing on perma Tejo and just find a way to work around this change. Beyn is still a solid player albeit not a star but this roster can definitely still work.

T1 looked shit going into Masters and then won the whole thing, stop doubting when PACIFIC is a Top 1/2 region with insane mechanics and every team levelling up. No other region is this hardly contested in the Top 6

Indo teams and players when they don't have an Indonesian on IGL >>>>>>>>

LFG TALON

Yes, and that will improve with time I'm sure. It's a big jump to join mid way through the season and immediately pick up the reigns of IGL but they already look like a incredibly solid team with way more fluidity and confidence in eachother to trade. Besides the overcooked rounds, their defaults are pretty damn good and taking map control and denying orbs etc. T1 was not at their best today absolutely but I think RRQ has quickly shown them why Tejo is still so important in this meta.

Bro, Crazyguy has improved his IGL and calling drastically. If you can't see how well they're working the maps and defaulting forcing T1 to make mistakes you might be cooked.

Any genuinely insane prospects from The Philippines that haven't been picked up? I'm starting to believe that coach Meow is a fraud considering how 6fingers has elevated BOOM to this level while TS has seemingly regressed.

I'll stand by the fact that they can host it in Thailand if they wanted to. It's cheaper here, VISA friendly to most nationalities, Bangkok is widely multinational with access to worldwide cuisine, a decently passionate fanbase (though admittedly, RIOT has killed a lot of hype Thai VALORANT fans had but Masters Bangkok definitely reignited some passion) and our infrastructure is more than capable of hosting tournaments, especially simple playoffs or even an entire stage of VCT PACIFIC. Of course, the issue isn't whether it's possible, it's whether it's worth the time and investment to actually carry this out and would require a whole lot more planning but RIOT will ultimately have to make a choice unless they want the scene to become stagnant since lets be real, there is no real hype during most VCT games.

They can't do anything as of now, they already fucked up by signing an exclusively streaming deal with the platform SOOP. Co-streamers are only permitted to stream on SOOP which is a website NO ONE in SEA even used until they started forcing people to switch over. Only those diehard fans of VALORANT actually commit to watching on SOOP while the rest just ignore it. I don't mind watching, I don't even have a SOOP account and I just tune in to watch the teams I'm interested in play since I have no interest in reading or participating in chat.

Z11 disasterclass.

To me it's super mundane (tbf, I do kinda limit myself to mostly using the treadmill/stairmaster toi get my cardio in) and I try to play sports as much as possible to compensate (if I could play 5-a-side football or badminton everyday I probably would but after work I mostly just want to be home and the gym in my condo is the most convenient place to work out and not piss about in Bangkok traffic). I'm privileged enough to live near a relatively big park so I do enjoy those night runs sometimes but it's too damn hot and humid in Thailand so going an air-conditioned gym is like a safehaven.

Not including BOOM is criminal.

No idea on the logistics and all the costs with these likely being the main defining factors but perhaps hosting playoffs for splits in different APAC countries each time could draw viewership. Doesn't need to be the production level of a Masters/Champions event but would be nice.

They are heavily intertwined with the Thai scene across multiple esports titles and have headquarters here. They're an honorary Thai org in my heart lmfao but seriously though, I don't think there are any Thai orgs with the same level of professionalism as TALON so I'm honestly relieved they're our representative even if they're technically a HK/TW org.

The difference I suppose is that in PACIFIC, these franchise orgs were specifically advertised as the reps of specific countries so in general people were hyped and have expectations as such for teams to field players of that specific nationality. While TALON isn't specifically a Thai org, they do have a heavy presence in the Thai scene across multiple esports titles and have a branch of headquarters here and hence why they feel obligated to maintain a Thai core at the very least.

NS top 3? Lul