"Gekko is super strong" - Jemkin on the Gekko pick on Icebox, 2024 with RRQ and Monyet's impact so far
Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ) managed to pick up its first win against DetonatioN FocusMe (DFM) to kickstart its VCT Pacific Stage 2 campaign. The Indonesian organization now finds itself with a 4-2 record and sits comfortably in the overall standings with a real shot of making it to playoffs. The addition of former Paper Rex and Global Esports player, Monyet, could be the difference maker for RRQ to make it to the playoffs and go even further.
Another integral piece of this roster throughout this year has been Russian Duelist Maksim "Jemkin" Batorov. The tier-one rookie has quickly made a name for himself with his strong performances on Jett and Raze. After RRQ's victory against DFM, I had the chance to talk with Jemkin.
Jemkin talks about the latest Duelist changes, Monyet joining RRQ, and overall experience in 2024
Q: Hi Jemkin. Congratulations on the 2-0 win against DFM today. How are you feeling right now?
Jemkin: Thank you. It always feels good to win the first game.
Q: How has it been working with Monyet on and off the server?
Jemkin: I think he is a strong player individually. His aim is very good so it is easy to play with him. He has also adapted quite fast.
Q: With Monyet being the Controller now, has it made Estrella more comfortable in terms of calling and playing his original role of an Initiator?
Jemkin: I don't think so because Gun (Estrella) is comfortable on both Initiator and Controller. However, it's easier for us to play now because we have Monyet. We have the ability to make different team comps which makes it better for us.
Q: Can you talk me through the choice of you playing Gekko on Icebox instead of your usual Jett?
Jemkin: We just tried this comp in scrims before and it worked really well so we just sticked to playing it.
Q: Why do you think certain teams are opting to play no Duelist team compositions on Icebox recently?
Jemkin: I think Icebox is the only map you can play without a Duelist because you don't really need an entry to open up sites. Gekko is super strong which is another important reason.
Q: Do you think this will still be the case with the upcoming Duelist changes that will be live from Week 2? What do you think about your matchup against Talon Esports in the first match of the new patch?
Jemkin: I think the new patch is really interesting because Neon and Iso are really strong now. However, I don't think many teams had the time to prepare with these Agents so I think most of the teams will stick with their usual team comps.
Q: Do you enjoy playing Agents like Neon and Iso?
Jemkin: Iso is really fun to play for me but I am not too sure about Neon. I like playing Iso for sure.
Q: How has the overall experience been for you in your first year of tier-one Valorant with RRQ? Did you expect the competition to be quite hard or has it been easier than expected?
Jemkin: It's really good because now I can play every match on LAN. When I was playing in Japanese tier-two, it was mostly online except when you make Top 3 which was when we could play LAN. It's much better now with RRQ. It's always better to play on LAN for me.
I never thought it was going to be too hard in terms of competition except for the initial games where I thought I would be a bit shaky. I also played against these tier-one players in scrims before and I wasn't really scared or anything.
Q: Anything that you would like to share with the fans supporting RRQ and you?
Jemkin: Thank you for supporting us so far in Stage 2. I hope we will make you proud and we will try to win every game.
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