LOUD captain Matias ‘Saadhak’ Delipetro has opened up about the emotional rollercoaster that was the recent VCT LOCK//IN match against NRG.
LOUD punched their ticket to the VCT LOCK//IN semi-finals after moving past NRG in a marathon of a series that hit a new viewership peak for the tournament.
The match brought back memories of the countless battles between the two teams in 2022, when the core of NRG’s lineup played under OpTic Gaming. The North American team came out on top in three of the first four matches between the two, but then LOUD turned the tables on OpTic and won the next two, including the Valorant Champions final.
Speaking on his stream, Saadhak confessed how difficult it is to face NRG, a team he labeled a “giant”.
“They are very good,” he told viewers. “For f***’s sake! And the worst part is that we will have to continue to face them in the Americas league.”
Saadhak “almost cried” during NRG match
Saadhak finished the NRG series at the bottom of the scoreboard with a -17 K/D and a 0.89 VLR rating. According to the Argentinian captain, he became so focused on guiding his team to victory and finding the right strategy that his individual level took a serious hit.
(Timestamp starts at 01:50 for mobile viewers)
“From the first map to the second and the third, I noticed that my individual performance kept dropping because I had to put a lot more thought into the strategy,” he said.
“It broke my mind. I almost started crying on the second map. I didn’t know what else I could do. If you pay attention, you’ll notice we did something different each round, but it was so hard.”
Despite the toll that the match took on him, Saadhak insisted that it is “a pleasure” to find an opponent that tests him to his limit.
“That is something that I love, a team that tests me all the time,” he said. “And that will always be the case with NRG. There is a rivalry between us. They are an incredible team.
“The thing that made me the happiest was that my boys were really tested. When the pressure was at its highest, when they needed to show up, they were there, clutching, getting kills, communicating, never giving up.”
LOUD will have ten days to prepare for their semi-final clash against DRX, scheduled for March 2 at 5pm GMT/9am PT.
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