We are now deep in the trenches of Stage 1 of the VALORANT Challengers Tour, and the first Stage has delivered endless content for fans worldwide. Whether it be the end of Astra’s reign of terror right before Playoffs, Brimstone running circles around the opposition or teams proving themselves to be potential powerhouses in the near future, the scene has been chalk full of surprises from unlikely sources.

Today, we took the time to speak to a member of one of those surprises: r/ValorantCompetitive subreddit legend and Pittsburgh Knights analyst, Matthew “slow” Amuah! We spoke about his journey to being a part of the Knights, the Knights’ run in Stage 1 and much more!

You’re currently a member of the Pittsburgh Knights as an analyst. Do you mind just telling us how you got to be a part of the team and your journey as an analyst?

slow: I started writing articles about how teams play maps in October last year and just kept pumping them out. Eventually, they caught a bit of traction, and Ocean [Knights head coach] noticed a few of the ones I did. He asked me to do some trial work in late November, and then the rest was history.

Your team ended its impressive run in Stage 1 with a loss to XSET last week, and while I’m sure it’s not the result you guys wanted to see, it’s safe to say the Knights made a name for themselves and put a lot more eyes on the team as you look ahead to Stage 2. I know the team’s run just ended, but looking ahead, what are some of the key things the team is focused on to keep the Stage 1 momentum going into the next Stage?

slow: Well, the run ending how it did hurt but going from not even being expected to make the Main Event at all to reaching Playoffs with around a month of play with genghsta was more than a success. To keep this form up, we want to expand our map pool and stratbook as well as add more flexibility in roles to help achieve those goals. We also want to work to optimize how we practice in general even more.

Last year saw Ascend take home the crown of Champions basically giving EU bragging rights, for the time being. With the new year, there’s been a ton of shifting in terms of teams and metas. You are always conducting a very well done analysis of how different regions play certain maps; in your honest opinion, how do you think North America stacks up at this point, internationally, compared to some of the other regions’ heavy hitters?

slow: I think NA is in a decent spot in the top level overall. I think the middle of the pack in EU is more well-rounded and has more depth, but teams like V1, C9, and OG would match up well against the best from other regions. OpTic specifically is a team I think has the firepower and strategy to win Iceland if they qualify. EU aside, I think the SEA representatives could be a problem for NA as well.

The new act introduced a few noticeable changes to the Controller class, one of them being a speed boost to Brimstone’s Stim Beacon. Now, there’s nothing wrong with increasing the speed at which the game is played, but in a game like VALORANT where it’s almost a game of timing, what did you think of this change to his ability?

slow: I personally like it. Brimstone is a fun agent, but he was just outclassed by Astra for ages. I think the change of pace in game tempo with him in the meta is fun, and the change to his stim Riot just did [one charge instead of two with a bump in cost at $200] puts him in a balanced position.

Let’s take a look at Apex Legends for a second: a game that has been heavily criticized for their over reliance on adding new characters with “wall hack abilities”. Coming back to VAL, Jett has her dash, Neon can sprint, and now Brim can stim his team; do you think this could set a potential precedent where later on in the game’s lifecycle we could see teams full on running on the site and abandoning the tactical FPS label this game was set to have?

slow: I think the game is threading that line already with agents like Neon and Brimstone making faster movement and rushing the norm. On the flip side, teams are coming up with even better defensive setups. I think it will be interesting to see how these clash once teams get more time to experiment with these faster-paced comps and agents.

On the other hand, another notable change came to Astra where they hit her pretty hardby increasing cooldowns on a lot of her kit and brought down total star count. We’ve seen teams use her post patch so she hasn’t been totally destroyed, but do you think we’ll see Riot revert the changes made to her kit in some areas or possibly even reinvent the character?

slow: I think Astra is in a perfect position right now and doesn't need changes. If anything, I think she could get her 5th star back but the other smokes should have slight nerfs themselves first before they tweak her kit more.

Going back to the patch one last time, Riot made the decision to implement this when the Group Stage was coming to an end, basically changing a lot of prep and the meta that was set for some time. Being a part of this change, how did you feel about the implementation of this patch? Do you think Riot could’ve handled patch implementation better rather than instead in the middle of the Group Stage?

slow: I think the patch should have been delayed to Playoffs instead of through the Group Stage. It makes no sense to do it while some teams are fighting for Playoffs and instantly have to learn new comps and change their whole playbook. Luckily, it didn't affect our Playoff chances.

You tweeted out the other day that NA is far behind in regards to having analysts on their staff, citing only 3 of the top 20 teams have an analyst. For all of the aspiring analysts, do you have any advice, any words of encouragement on how to get into the scene so that the lack of analysts can be changed?

slow: My advice for anyone interested in getting into coaching or analyst work is to get your brain out there. It's different to players since you don't have something like ranked to get your skills noticed, for example, meaning you need to do some kind of media that shows you know your stuff.

Doing articles, podcasts, YouTube videos, or even Reddit posts about the game helps people learn about you and how you could be a valuable asset to a team. Also, reach out to other coaches and analysts in the scene if you have any questions. Myself and others would be down to help where we can, and hopefully you can build some connections.

Anything you’d like to include the interview with?

slow: Much love to all the people who rooted for us during VCT. I know for a fact we can reach even greater heights for the next VCT event this year and beyond!

We want to thank slow for being a part of this interview. Be sure to follow him on his journey with the Knights, and get your name out there if you think you have what it takes to be the next top analyst in the scene.