Interview with Shopify Rebellion Player Victor “V1c” Truong

Yoann: Hello everyone! Today I'm with V1C, Shopify Rebellion player. Could you introduce yourself?

V1C: Yeah. My name is Victor. I'm a professional player for Shopify, I'm 17 years old and I just play games.

Yoann: Right. When and how did you get into esports?

V1C: I started playing when I was eight. I just played CS-GO. It was my first game ever. I played it casually until I got into higher leagues when I was around 16. Eventually I switched to VALORANT I kind of just kept grinding, playing smaller tournaments, and finally made my way up to get recognized.

And I've been on T1 academy, SOAR gaming. And eventually I got onto Shopify Rebellion.

Yoann: Oh, that's cool. You joined Shopify Rebellion this November. So it's very recent. How is it going so far?

V1C: We're going pretty good. We had tournaments that we just recently played. I think it's still really early to see our real team potential. But I think it's been getting really good. Every practice has been going smoothly.

Yoann: Yeah. That’s perfect. What role will you be playing?

V1C: I’ll be playing the flex role. They want me to play initiators, but I can play smokes too. Those are like the two main categories I'd be playing for the team

Yoann: Right. Did anything change for you when you joined Shopify Rebellion in terms of meeting new people, trying new gameplans

V1C: I think that there's a different system in every team and different ways people play. I’ll find my place in the team, with the coaches and the players. Everyone has a unique style and different way they approach the game.

But nothing drastic, I think it’s more of an eye opener for me instead of like a hindrance. I think it's very good to have different eyes and opportunities.

Yoann: Okay sure. What do you do to keep a great team environment inside and outside the game?

V1C: I haven’t met the boys in real life yet, so I can't really say exactly. But I guess in the recent tournament, I try to give out ideas on certain things in the game. Especially for losing. I try to stay calm. I don't really get mad. I try to keep everyone calm.

Yoann: Yeah. This is very important, especially on the highest level of VALORANT. 

V1C: Yeah exactly.

Yoann: How do you prepare to play against opponents?

V1C: Individually for me, I just focus on myself and focus on how I want to approach the game. I try to keep myself mentally focused on my aim, and make sure I feel good.

Yoann: How much time are you practicing before an official match?

V1C: I play until I feel good, 3 to 5 deathmatches, maybe a little bit of shooting range, maybe a competitive game, depending on how much time I have. I don't really have a particular routine.

Yoann: Right. How do you feel about the current VALORANT meta with Chamber, Fade… Is there anything you’d like to change?

V1C: All I can say is that I got used to the Chamber meta. I don't think it's crazy. I think it allows more comps to be explored like instead of a Jett or a Neon. I think it gives flexibility and creativity to certain teams.

Yoann: And about map changes or gun balance or mechanics.

V1C: Since the switch from CS-GO to VALORANT, I think a big difference is the spray pattern. I feel like there’s a skill gap between knowing when to burst and when to tap. There's so many different shooting styles that you can create and have your own.

I think having a spray pattern could be really good.

Yoann: Okay. And what are your thoughts about the new VALORANT franchising program?

V1C: I kind of dislike it and like it at the same time. The pull of players and teams that are invited is a margin for each region as it's only four or five teams. More teams will get added each year. In a few years from now there'll be like 6 to 8 teams in the franchise spots and I think that would be really good. But at the moment it's very limited. That's my only complaint.

Yoann: Yeah. And Riot really needs to work on the Tier 2 to make it appealing for teams that didn't make it.

V1C: Yeah.

Yoann: How do you feel about Pearl in pro play?

V1C: In the beginning, I thought it was different, I guess the only complaint I had was B control, it wasn't that big of an issue. But now, with different comps, more teams are playing it. I have mixed feelings about it because it's big and very clustered. It seems hard to play against certain teams.
There are so many ways you can play it, which is like a good thing. But there's also so many ways you get countered.

Yoann: Okay. And do you think your team could bring maybe Harbor to a future composition?

V1C: It's in the air for sure, but I think at the moment it's very hard to play that agent. If there's a good team that has a good blueprint on how they want to run it. It can give more teams ideas, especially us. So it's still very early stages.

Yoann: Okay. Yesterday I saw Paper Rex play Harbor on Fracture. I interviewed their coach and he said that this agent could be very good for their very aggressive playstyle.

V1C: I agree with that statement. I know it would work with aggressive teams, but we do like playing slow.

Yoann: Exactly. Which team would you like to face in the future? 

V1C: I guess any of the franchised teams, that would be a challenge because they’re definitely a level above us. But in general for tier two, I’m excited to play against the new rosters, the new G2 roster for example. I think that's very exciting.

Yoann: Yeah. And, who were you supporting during Champions 2022?

V1C: 100 Thieves. They have a really good team, and I'm friends with some of them and I think they have a lot of good potential. Then I am supporting other teams like Fnatic. I want to see how Liquid performs with nAts. I'm a big fan of how they play and like his individual play style. I'm excited to see them play.

Yoann: What are your short and long term ambitions with SR?

V1C: To make franchising, to be one of the better teams and just keep grinding, get better every day. I think a short term goal is these smaller tournaments that are happening in December. So I want to win that. Of course, I want to show that we're ready to compete in Ascension and people should look out for us. 

Yoann: Best of luck for the future, and I hope to see you guys in the franchising league soon! 

V1C: Yeah, for sure! Thank you for the interview.