Immortals came off of a tough lost against 100 Thieves. The game was much closer than the final 2:0 map count indicates. Following the series, Rhett “Kehmicals” Lynch and Amgalan “Genghsta” Nemekhbayar of Immortals sat down with Run It Back. They discussed the match with 100T, what they can improve on, and what to expect from them in the Lower Bracket.

Run It Back speaks with Kehmicals and Genghsta of Immortals

Kehmicals

Run It Back: You have been with the team for a solid amount of time at this point. How do you feel now compared to when you first joined the Immortals roster?

Kehmicals: It feels great. The coaching staff and the players were really welcoming. They criticize pretty well. From the time I’ve joined to now, I’ve gained a lot of experience. They’ve opened me up to a lot of things I could do differently. It is a very good place to learn. Everyone will hold you accountable. It is good to have an environment like that in order to improve.

Run It Back: A lot of the rounds that Immortals won were done so by great team play. How important is that compared to relying on individual performances?

Kehmicals: It is very important to practice fundamentals, like trading and swinging together. At the end of the day, you can have a decent strategy, but if you can’t trade your teammates well or peek off each other, that basic stuff, you just won’t win. Sometimes it is good to make solo plays. It depends on the moment. For the most part, though, fundamentals are important. We believe heavily in that.

Run It Back: You were doing some serious damage with the Raze Paint Shells in the match. Are those practiced line ups or do you throw them like a Hail Mary when you catch wind of opponent locations?

Kehmicals: Most of it is intuition. I don’t really have any nade lineups. It’ll just be whatever is happening in the moment. Whatever I think is a good spot, I’ll throw those nades. Yeah, mainly just intuition.

Run It Back: When mirroring a high profile player like Asuna, what do you try and do differently so you perform as Raze better?

Kehmicals: I just play my game. I don’t think about what they’re doing too much. I play my game, play to my practice. I shoot people in the head and stay as focused as possible. Whatever happens happens.

Run It Back: The match was super close against a very talented 100 Thieves team. What do you feel the team can improve to on ensure success in the Lower Bracket?

Kehmicals: We really need to play to our practice. We are very inexperienced when it comes to tournaments this size. The viewership and everything. A lot of us, its the first time. We play differently in a match. If we would have played like we do in scrims, we would have won 2:0. I genuinely believe that. That’s why it hurts even more to lose like that. We know that if we just play to our practice and stick to it. We did for the most part, but going down on Ascent, we definitely weren’t. We almost came back, but if we just played our game, we would have easily won that. Who knows what would have happened in map two if the momentum changes. That’s what we need to learn for the next match. That is the big thing we are going to take away.

Genghsta

Run It Back: Both maps proved to be pretty attacker sided. What could have gone differently for Immortals to take more defensive rounds?

Genghsta: Specifically on Ascent, we just screwed up. We didn’t really play our game on defense. We gave up too much and played scared. I think that’s where we messed up. If we didn’t do that, obviously, we probably would have won Ascent. Haven, honestly, I think they just read our game. We like to play retakes and none of our retakes worked out. If we can’t play retakes with our comp, it’s over.

Run It Back: The team comps on both maps were also very similar. What do you do differently as Sova to prove to be a better Sova than the player on the other side of the map?

Genghsta: As long as I’m not dying to their Sova Ult and I’m reading their Sova Plays, seeing what they drone. Just assisting. Doing my job better than him. Not dying first. Using my utility for the team. Just playing a supportive style.

Run It Back: The first time we spoke was after your team was eliminated from First Strike. You said to me, and I quote, “I’m confident in our future. If the fans stick around, we can show them something big in 2021.” Do you feel, even this early on in the year, that you and the team have lived up to that statement?

Genghsta: I would say we’ve done pretty well for ourselves. We are far better than what we showed today. I genuinely think that we could win Masters. I still feel the same way I felt after First Strike. We just have to show our game. In matches, we don’t play like our normal selves. When we get that down, we can start winning and proving everyone wrong.

Run It Back: The team has been on a roll lately, really only falling to the likes of Sentinels, Envy, and now 100 Thieves. Are you excited for a chance to possibly avenge all three of those losses in the Lower Bracket?

Genghsta: We’re looking forward to it. We need to fix our mistakes and go for that run.

Run It Back: First, the team will have to go through Luminosity. What do you expect out of that match?

Genghsta: From their end, we expect them to change it up a bit. They’ve lost to us twice in a row now, I think. We expect them to heavily counter-strat. We are going to study them to and see if they change anything. We are going to play our game, be confident, and I think we can win against Luminosity.

*Questions and answers may have been slightly edited or altered for clarity and fluidity.*

Stay tuned to Run It Back for more coverage of the Valorant Champions Tour, including Masters tournament details and player interviews!