Article by: John "JAYEL"

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In this episode, Xner and JAYEL talk with AGM from Complexity Gaming's Valorant team. Michael discusses how his transition to Valorant was and what it was like getting signed by Complexity. We then start to compare CS and Valorant and get into the details of NA's current CS scene. It was a great interview, thank you Michael!

This video was recorded on December 17th, 2020 at 11:15 PM EST.

Time Stamps:

‍00:00 Start and Intro
‍02:30 AGM's CS career
‍04:40 AGM's transfer into Valorant
‍06:00 First feelings from playing Valorant
‍07:00 When AGM knew he was switching to Valorant
‍07:57 What is the Valorant scene and network like
‍09:07 Signing with Complexity Gaming
‍11:44 Playing Valorant with people from different games (CS, Apex, OW, etc.)
‍13:25 Success formulas for the best Valorant teams (TSM, Sentinels, 100T)
‍15:00 Valorant is more individualistic than CS
‍16:45 100 Thieves Valorant
‍17:43 Valorant dynamics can transfer & benefit CS gameplay (innovation exists)
‍20:00 What draws people to Valorant besides money-dreams
‍21:50 AGM's view on NA CS right now
‍23:28 The importance of staying in school--not everyone will go pro
‍25:00 Just because you make MDL does not mean you are pro
‍26:00 IGLs rarely go pro
‍27:40 Multiple languages on a team (i.e. Portuguese and English)
‍28:40 MDL "Practice Season" for S36
‍30:43 Are more tournaments the answer for NA CS
‍31:50 Idea to have tournaments specifically for T3 only
‍33:25 ESEA is currently throwing money at the wall
‍35:15 Esports business model is off
‍36:00 ESEA should take notes from Mythic League
‍39:00 Comparing Riot (Valorant) and Valve's (CS) business models
‍40:40 Org owners need to know where their money is going
‍43:00 CS and Valorant comparison whirlwind banter

Discord: https://discord.gg/g3MSDPa
‍Our website: https://counternature.net
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‍Xner's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Xner20
‍AGM's Twitter: https://twitter.com/agmfps