NRG Bounces Back After a Rough Start to VCT Americas Season
After a difficult start to the VCT Americas season, NRG is starting to turn things around. They avoided a devastating loss to the winless KRÜ roster in the final match of Super Week on April 25.
In a post-match interview with Goldenboy, NRG’s player Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks didn’t hold back when addressing VALORANT fans who judge players based on just a few matches. Ardiis criticized fans for their recent bias and quick judgment.
“Some fans are absolutely braindead,” ardiis expressed. “TenZ has won events, but if he has two bad games, everyone says ‘fuck TenZ, TenZ is shit.’ I have one bad game on Killjoy and people say it’s dogshit.”
Goldenboy interrupted the interview to ask ardiis to stop swearing, but ardiis continued to make his point without any cursing. He highlighted how fans have a recency bias, praising players after one good game and criticizing them after one bad game.
There has been a lot of discussion among VALORANT fans about TenZ’s performance, especially after the early success of Sentinels following Marved’s return. Platforms like Reddit and VLR forums are filled with posts and comments bashing TenZ.
However, there is a strong argument to be made for TenZ facing more obstacles than any other player in competitive VALORANT. He has played through COVID and a finger injury, provided support to his fiancé Kyedae during her serious health issues, navigated a coaching change, and lived up to his own high expectations. If you exclude the COVID match against Leviatán, his only bad game recently was against NRG.
NRG Acknowledges Their Performance Below Expectations
While ardiis’ statements about VALORANT fans with recency bias hold some truth, he also admitted that NRG is not performing up to their own expectations. In the interview, he said, “We haven’t shown our best or even 50 percent of our best in this league. We’re 2-3 and we’ve played the worst VALORANT we’ve ever played.”
At the halfway point of the season, NRG and Sentinels are tied in the standings at 2-3. However, NRG currently holds the sixth-place spot with a 6-6 map record, while Sentinels have a 6-7 record.
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