A Desperate Duel: FUT Esports battle against ASE for continued survival in VCT Masters Tokyo

China’s 2nd seed representatives Attacking Soul Esports take on the EMEA 3rd seed representatives FUT esports in this battle for survival in VCT Masters Tokyo. With both teams facing elimination, it was do-or-die or either squad. With ASE being a relatively new team in Valorant and FUT’s first international tournament, this was a first time meet for both sides, and what a first impression for both sides.

FUT faced off against EG in their opening match, failing to overcome truly magnificent performance from the latter. Their elimination match against ASE then, became their final shot at redemption if they sought to remain in Tokyo. The same held true for ASE. After falling to DRX during their opening series, if they wanted to continue testing themselves against strong international opposition, they would have to defeat FUT.

The following piece involves answers from the post-match press conferences involving the two teams.

Untapped Power of China

In their first international Valorant tournament, there was so much for ASE to catch up to in terms of experience. Despite that, there were times during the series where they showed incredible potential. With this being the first Valorant tournament that both ASE and EDG have truly impressed pundits and viewers, it promises great things from the region in times to come.

ASE’s first matchup of Tokyo came against DRX, 2nd seed of the Pacific and potentially one of the strongest teams in the world currently. Despite losing 2-0, the series was anything but a wipe for DRX. ASE put up strong performances and showed a lot of heart when it came to challenging. Despite the titanic opposition, their performance and determination did not falter. Not bad for a first timer, eh?

When asked about ASE’s performance against DRX, stating that the series had showed a lot of potential from ASE and the Chinese region, player Liu “YHchen” Zhen-feng credited the team’s performance to them ‘just playing on [their] strengths’ and showing ‘what [they] can do in scrims to everyone.’

In preparation for their elimination match against FUT, coach Yang “EGO” Haozun revealed that he was of the opinion that ‘the playstyle of FUT is very similar to [ASE]’s. Because of that, he said, ‘he would play on [their] strength to cooperate better and as a team, just play normally.’

Funnily, perhaps the most 'veteran' player of the roster was former EDG player and now ASE star, Qu "Life" Donghao. The player briefly played on-stage for EDG during the Champions 2022 debut, however, he made an incredible first impression on one of the two maps he played. Breeze against Team Liquid. EDG lost that map in very close overtime, but "Life" was the only one to go positive while showcasing some of the incredible aim we saw once more today. When asked what the difference was, playing his first series at Champions versus against DRX, he said: 'I would say the main reason, or two for today's strong performance is, the first one is I'm not like before. I'm not nervous or stressful like the previous games. Also, secondly is, I'm not physically sick.'

Bittersweet Goodbyes (For Now)

With their loss to FUT, ASE is now the first team to exit the VCT Masters Tokyo tournament. At the conclusion, we asked head coach “EGO” about their biggest learnings from the two series they played.

“There are a lot of takeaways for us from this tournament, inside and outside of the game I would say. Also, we will fix our mistakes to see how we can go further next time.”

As their first international Valorant tournament, the experience the players and coaches have gained, will be invaluable not just for their personal growth, but the region’s as well.

Everyone on Attacking Soul had some amazing moments this tournament. How would you describe your experience since it’s your first time (except Life) playing Valorant internationally on a big stage?

[YHchen] “So, I feel like we definitely had our moments at this 2023 Masters. We have to fix our own individual mistakes and I believe we can have better matches in the future.”

[Bunt] “Also, I feel like our individual mistakes are definitely a lot, so we definitely have to reduce our mistakes in the future.”

Not Even Remotely Done

Not out yet says FUT, as they take down the Chinese representatives in the three-map series. FUT were initially off to a slow start against Evil Geniuses. Despite their strong domestic performances, they took a while to adjust the new environment. On map 2, FUT were up 12-9 on EG, about to force a decider map, when they slipped and EG came back into the series.

Not the most impressive of performances from FUT certainly, but everyone knows how dangerous this Turkish squad can be once they get going. That said, it certainly alarmed many EMEA fans to see FUT go down a map, on Haven no less. However, from there, they battled back to take the series in a reverse sweep.

After the series, FUT’s IGL Furkan “MrFaliN” Yeğen was asked on their struggles on Haven, to which he replied: ‘Well, actually they are not playing super well on Haven right now, but in Masters right now, we’re just not playing as a team right now. That’s why we’re just playing bad right now. We won the match, but we didn’t play good ourselves because we’re not playing to our full potential right now. I believe it, this game, it will give us momentum right now for the next matches.’

Surviving for Another Day

Star player Konur “qw1” Alp Şahin even managed to close out the series with one of the few aces of the tournament thus far. Looks like FUT is finally getting back on track. As they mentally reset, they now need to prep for their match against one of Pacific’s scariest teams, DRX. Despite the latter’s shaky form in their own match against EG, they’re still not a team to underestimate.

Head Coach Eray “GAIS” Sarıkaya commented on their preparations and thoughts for the upcoming game. ‘Although we had a shaky performance, we could say the same thing for DRX as well. Especially since the beginning of the year, DRX has been kind of a downfall and they are kind of also on a slippery slope. Today’s game was a tough game for us. At first, we had difficulty entering the first map, then when we entered the game, the rest came really easy to us. We were strong, we were confident, we had an easy match coming into the second and third map. So yeah, it was not a bad day for us, and next day’s match, tomorrow’s match, will be a different one. So yeah, I think we will be quite strong.’

FUT will next face DRX in the R2 elimination match. They will need to win to remain in Tokyo. Thanks to NA’VI’s loss, they are assured qualification to Champions 2023 however, regardless of tomorrow’s outcome. ASE, meanwhile, has been eliminated from Masters Tokyo 2023.

You can follow the VCT Twitter for all the updates regarding VCT Masters Tokyo. Follow Strafe Esports for the latest breaking news on all things Valorant. 

Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games