Bleed Esports recently revamped its Valorant roster in preparation for the 2024 VCT Pacific League.
On March 8th, the team welcomed former DRX player Kim “Zest” Ki-seok and Jorell “Retla” Teo to its active roster. Bleed also parted ways with Ngo “crazyguy” Cong Anh and Javier “Egoist” Chua.
In an exclusive interview with ONE Esports, Bleed’s head coach, Nikola “LEGIJA” Ninic, provides insights into the team’s new roles and the contributions of their latest additions ahead of their next VCT tournament.
Bleed Esports’ Valorant head coach discusses Zest and Retla’s impact on the team
Bleed’s coach expressed confidence in the team’s recent roster changes, highlighting that Zest and Relta already fit in well.
“Zest is a quiet and a very humble person. He’s cool, calm, and collected, which helps the team,” said LEGIJA. “Retla is a very funny and loveable guy. He brings a very good mood to the team with his personality.”
Regarding the in-game leadership (IGL) role, coach LEGIJA explained that the team does not have a strict calling system.
While Natchaphon “sScary” Matarat serves as the primary IGL, other players, particularly Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker and Zest, are encouraged to provide mid-round calls based on their roles as duelists and flex players.
Coach LEGIJA pointed out one area where they needed to improve is the team’s decision-making during clutch situations.
“We need players to learn how to generate plans during the round and communicate much better than we did at VCT Pacific Kickoff,” he said. “We have to step up individually, all six of us. I need to make sure we play better as a team, and the players must be on point when it’s matchday.”
With the addition of Zest and Relta, the team faces two challenges that coach LEGIJA pointed out they need to overcome.
“I think Zest’s biggest challenge will be not speaking fluent English, but I think it should only be in the beginning as he is quite a fast learner,” he said.
“For Retla, I think it will be that he had a two-year break from competitive play. The best way to help him, I think, is for us as a Team to treat practice more or less like official games, which is sometimes hard.”
Bleed’s coach has high hopes for the team’s new additions, citing their potential and experience. He expects Zest to have a significant impact on the team’s mid-round calling and decision-making, leveraging his expertise.
Similarly, he anticipates Retla excelling in fragging and anchoring roles, contributing effectively to site defense.
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