Conference One: Interview with University of Alberta's Team Coordinator
The Conference One season came to an end with an exciting finish to the Radiant and Immortal Division. With such intense competition, the teams that made it far proved their skill level. One of the teams who dominated Finals play was the University of Alberta. They answered a few questions about their reactions to the Conference One Season and what they are looking forward to moving forward.
The first question asked had to do with their reaction to Conference One Fall Valorant play. From the University of Alberta, Jackie answered with “Our team has exceeded my expectations as a relatively new team entering the scene. Considering their 2nd place finish to the season, it is astonishing how quickly they were able to get the chemistry together. The UAlberta Green VALORANT team’s final roster was only formed in October 2021 and has shown massive improvement over the course of a month throughout scrims and tournaments. From these scrims and past tournaments, I had my expectations high going into CF1 Fall. However, even those expectations were blown away from our 2nd place placement.”
They were also asked about how their team improved for Conference one gameplay. Jackie responded with, “From UAlberta Green’s disappointing performance in the CSL Fall VALORANT Brawl, the team has worked together harder than ever before. Countless scrims and server time and a session with Alberta local, FaZe Trippy helped the team through the barriers they encountered along the way. I would say the primary reasons for the success that the team has shown in CF1 despite previous results was the support staff who allowed the team to strive in an extremely competitive environment and the resilience of the team’s energy to push through these barriers and continue climbing to be the best.” The University of Alberta did not lose a single match after Round Robin one until the Finals match against Carleton - their improvement happened fast.
With such success, it is reasonable to wonder who stepped up and became a leader for the team. Jackie answered with, “All players from UAlberta Green have shown dedication and
leadership within the team, however notably, Nick “YEGNick” Marotta and Ryan “ShimmyXD” Shimizu have contributed to this the most. As the highest-ranked player, Ryan came into the team sitting comfortably most seasons at Radiant #100 - #200. His game knowledge allowed him to fit into the IGL role comfortably and has helped the team achieve their victories through the strategies and innovations he has brought. Nick, on the other hand, is the glue for the team. His energy during matches and scrims help level the team’s mental and spirit to keep them focused during their matches.” ShimmyXD won a player of the week for Conference One earlier in the season after a dominating performance.
When asked what the team will be working on during the break-in play, Jackie proclaimed, “Entering the Spring season for CF1 and other collegiate tournaments, we’re hoping to push the boundaries of a collegiate level team. Along with the topics I mentioned previously regarding their improvement, the team will be looking to compete in VCS regularly and looking into opportunities to compete in NSG and other tier 2/high tier 3 tournaments. Through the experiences gained from those, the team is not only hoping to gain a competitive advantage over other collegiate teams, but to compete against the best teams in NA as a whole.” After finishing so highly in Conference One fall play, it makes sense that they would be looking forward to the spring. Jackie indicated the expectations for the spring with “Win. That’s all I’m going to say.” Well, put. The University of Alberta will look to continue its Valorant dominance come spring.
