Riot Games’ Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) has been a highly successful event in terms of providing players with exposure. It gives players from all regions the opportunity to compete and prove themselves on the global stage. Southeast Asia (SEA) in particular has proven that it is by no means weaker than the likes of North America (NA) or Europe (EU) when it comes to Valorant esports.
One such team that has consistently outperformed others in the SEA region is BOOM Esports, with multiple VCT Indonesia Challengers victories throughout the 2021 season. One of the team’s newest players, Rafi "frostmind" Diandra, who joined the team on 25th September as a replacement for Sheldon “NcSlasher” Andersen, spoke to AFK Gaming about how Valorant connected with him while other FPS games didn’t, how he still considers himself an esports fan despite competing professionally, and more.
Frostmind on joining BOOM Esports and moving his career forward
At the time of the interview, Frostmind was the newest member of the BOOM Esports roster and he was very excited about the new opportunity. He previously competed at an international event back in 2020 and the Valorant APAC (Asia Pacific) Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) was his first global event in over a year. He has a sense of pride for his country and he repeatedly spoke about how much he wants to represent Indonesia and Southeast Asia as a whole. Heading into the event, BOOM Esports was preparing itself to take on Team FENNEL and NUTURN Gaming. His intuition that NUTURN would be the toughest opponent in their bracket turned out to be true, with the Korean Valorant team knocking BOOM Esports into the lower bracket.
Frostmind has a desire to compete at the highest level and this is a fresh start for him. He has a strong desire to be among the best in Southeast Asian Valorant. “I was a part of Alter Ego during Stage One and eventually moved to Indonesian organization XcN Gaming. My experience so far in the Valorant Champions Tour has had its ups and downs. It was a toss up between coming second and third and I have never been to the Southeast Asian playoffs before. This is going to be my first time coming back to face the top teams in Asia and I couldn’t be more excited!”
BOOM Esports’ journey in Valorant
Southeast Asia has been a strange region for Riot Games after League of Legends failed to take off in the region. In fact, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, a game that was sued by Riot Games for copyright infringement (citing similarities between Mobile Legends and League of Legends) is extremely popular in Southeast Asia with over a billion downloads and its esports tournaments regularly garnering millions of views. So when Riot Games decided to branch out of League of Legends, and announce a new title like Valorant, no one knew what to expect. In a predominantly mobile-focused market, a game like Valorant did not seem like it would succeed, but it did.
BOOM Esports, an Indonesian organization dipped its toes in Valorant esports shortly after the game’s launch and secured a respectable fourth place in the national First Strike event. The team’s potential was unknown until the announcement of the Valorant Champions Tour. BOOM participated in the Stage One Challengers event and ended up winning it. Lightning struck not once but thrice with the team securing first place at Indonesian Challengers events in all three stages. During the Southeast Asia playoffs to qualify for Valorant Masters Berlin, the team fell short against eventual qualification winners Paper Rex, who went on to compete at Masters Berlin.
Riot has also taken a keen interest in SEA with its General Manager (SEA and Taiwan) talking about the publisher’s plans to grow its studios in Singapore and Hong Kong as part of its expansion strategy. In its very first year, Riot Games aggressively pushed for Valorant esports’ expansion with the introduction of First Strike events for Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Philippines, and Indonesia.
Frostmind on the future of Valorant in Southeast Asia
Frostmind has competed in the AOC Masters, Valorant First Strike and other top-tier events over the past two years and he has an understanding of what it feels like to be on stage against Southeast Asia’s best. He feels that Valorant esports has a solid future in the region. He is looking forward to what Riot Games has in store for SEA in the future and is ready to compete again once the 2022 Valorant Champions Tour season kicks off.
Frostmind still considers himself an avid esports fan despite being a pro player himself. His favorite moment in the Valorant Champions Tour so far was cheering with the fans for the Indonesian players who made it to Masters Berlin and despite his team not making it to Champions, he will be cheering for his fellow Southeast Asian teams once the world championship commences later this year.
Southeast Asia is often dismissed as a weaker region compared to the likes of North America and Europe however, Frostmind explained that this was a lot more nuanced. “The teams in Europe and North America have the fundamentals and the firepower to be the best in the world and they have actually proven it. Sentinels and Vision Strikers are currently among the best teams in the world right now.”
He is confident that Asian teams can keep up with NA and EU in Valorant Esports and he hopes to go up against the best in the future. He says, “in terms of mechanical skill we are not far off with Paper Rex putting on a solid performance against SuperMassive Blaze in Berlin. Unfortunately, Team Secret (former Bren Esports roster) could not compete in the event and could not make it to the event so we missed out on seeing them in action. Judging by how our peers performed in Berlin, we can keep up with the best too.”
But good communication skills is something that teams in the region currently lack, according to Frostmind. He thinks players from Europe and NA tend to stay calm even in tough situations and have the mental fortitude to make comebacks. “Whoever makes the least mistakes in Valorant wins”, he adds.
Having played CS:GO since 2017 prior to switching to Valorant, Riot Games’ shooter has quickly become Frostmind’s game of choice. He seeks to compete with BOOM Esports and the team is setting its expectations high for future Valorant events. It was a tough event for BOOM Esports to compete in, with three new players including Frostmind, David “Tehbotol” Monangin, and Rizkie “BerSerX” Adla Kusuma. But fans shouldn’t count them out yet. Frostmind wants BOOM Esports’ fans to continue supporting them in future events and if their track record in Indonesia and SEA is anything to go by, we will be seeing a lot more of the team next year at major events.
This year, teams FULL SENSE, X10 Esports, and Team Secret will be representing SEA at the Valorant Champions, which is the game’s first-ever world championship taking place in December 2021. BOOM Esports had one final opportunity to be a part of the world championships via the APAC Last Chance Qualifier, but losses against Korean giants NUTURN and DAMWON means that BOOM will not be a part of this year’s world championships. BOOM is already preparing itself for next year’s Champions Tour and its recent roster reshuffle is a major part of its plans for 2022.
