The Belgian in-game leader said that FunPlus Phoenix is a better team than the EDward Gaming roster he defeated with Team Liquid at the 2022 VALORANT Champions.
BRAZIL – Karmine Corp took part in a VCT LOCK//IN post-match press conference following their victory against FunPlus Phoenix, answering various questions ranging from the team’s debut in the opening round to the game’s current meta. Their 2-1 win over FunPlus Phoenix was on the discussion as well, in which both teams traded each other’s map picks of Lotus (13-6) and Haven (8-13) before engaging in a showdown on Pearl, where it was the Frenchman who prevailed with a comfortable 13-6 scoreline.
“I’ve played against two Chinese teams, [and] both times they were pretty good, [but] very different styles,” Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom said when asked about the performance of FunPlus Phoenix compared to EDward Gaming, a team he had previously played against during his time with Liquid during the 2022 VALORANT Champions.
Domestically, FunPlus Phoenix have demonstrated their capabilities against EDward Gaming in the FGC VALORANT Invitational 2022 Epilogue. The ZHUQUE squad managed to secure a 3-1 victory in the grand final, despite losing twice to their rivals during the group stage and upper final.
The Belgian player noted that both Chinese teams have unique and distinct playstyles. EDG played more aggressively, relying more on their duelist to execute their tactics. In contrast, ScreaM emphasized FPX’s slower pace of play, with a focus on gathering more information around the map. “I think they’re a better team than EDG for sure,” he says. “I think they’re on the good path like they’re improving every time, and honestly, it was not an easy game for us.”
However, the loss to Karmine Corp resulted in the recently-promoted ZHUQUE squad being eliminated from the single-elimination tournament. During the press conference held before the one with Karmine Corp, Tang “TZH” Zhehao also commented on the team’s international debut. “I was able to learn a lot from different teams from different regions,” he said before continuing to express his excitement about the opportunity to learn from other international teams and how that experience could be used to improve their performance.
Meanwhile, EDward Gaming have made their way to São Paulo to continue preparing for the Omega bracket of VCT LOCK//IN. The Haodong “Haodong” Guo-led side are scheduled to play NA’s 100 Thieves on February 4 at 7 AM SGT.
While the team has remained largely intact since their last international appearance, Qu “Life” Donghao has since parted ways and joined Attacking Soul Esports, leaving a vacancy in the starting five. To fill this position, former substitute player Zhao “Smoggy” Zhang was promoted to the starting lineup.
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Cover photo courtesy of Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
