A little over a year ago, League of Legends developer Riot Games shocked the world by releasing VALORANT; their take on the tactical first person shooter concept Counter-Strike had a command over. Fast forward a year later, and what seemed to be a shocking challenge, actually has paid off quite well as VALORANT has established it as a premier title with a booming esports scene.

Today, we took the time to speak with a former CS:GO vet and current in-game leader of Renegades, Roy “StrongLegs” Ahad about his time through both titles, his switch to VALORANT, and a look back at the year he’s had since the switch.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

StrongLegs: So I'm a little bit of a different story than what you might be used to in esports. Most players started competing in esports at a young age, I started at the age of 23 in CS:GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive). Despite everyone telling me that I was too old and I'd never make it as a pro, here I am proving everyone wrong. I am currently the IGL (In-Game Leader) for Renegades.

You have a ton of history in CS:GO as an analyst, caster, player and coach. VALORANT is the closest challenger to CS:GO we’ve seen to date and with that has come plenty of comparisons as to which is harder/easier. In your opinion, what’s your thoughts on this debate between the two titles?

StrongLegs: I would say that CS:GO is more mechanically precise, but VALORANT is less barebones than CS:GO and requires a lot more mental calculations and decision making.

To compare, in CS:GO, everyone has the same utilities so the only calculations in the middle of a round you need to make are player spreads/positions and utility/economy. In VALORANT, you need to account for what the enemy team comp is, how they are using those agents/util to combo, what their economy is, their ult economy, what we have to work with, ult orbs, etc.

Having been an IGL in both CS:GO and VALORANT, I would say that IGL’ing in VAL is soooooo much more difficult and mentally taxing than it was in CS:GO.

When Skye released, you dubbed yourself the “Father of Skye”. The recent nerf to her seems to have warranted a big ”yikes” from you and now you’ve been running a lot of Breach. Since Breach hasn’t seen much play at the higher levels of competitive play, how do you think Riot should shake up his kit to make him a big time pick similar to Skye?

StrongLegs: I don't think Skye is terrible right now, but having put in as many hours as I have on her, the changes feel a little too clunky for me right now so I'm taking a break from her and will revisit her soon.

Aside from Sova, I truly believe that Breach is actually one of the most disruptive initiators in the game right now. It's impossible to ignore his presence in the server and his global presence via stun separates him from the other initiators. I think that Breach is right on the edge of being completely overpowered or very useless and Riot should not mess with him too much right now. Let players/teams incorporate him and abuse his mechanics before they touch him.

VALORANT has been out for a little over a year and it has seen some massive success during its time. Looking back, what have been some highlights for you during this time

StrongLegs: VALORANT has changed my life in so many ways that I can't even begin to explain. My partner, C9 Mel (IGL for Cloud9 White), and I worked together in CS:GO and were struggling financially for a while. Now she's an icon for so many gamers out there, and I am establishing myself as an IGL/strategist in VAL. I could not be any happier for both of us.

When VALORANT was announced, I was still a caster/host and Mel was a producer/observer in CS:GO. I kept telling all my friends and Mel that this game is going to be a complete game changer, and we should hop on board the train right away. I could feel that deep inside somewhere, and I clung to that feeling.

I was invited to a private VAL discord led by Slasher (Rod Breslau: esports insider), and I had to choose a role; either talent (caster/color/analyst) or player. I knew that this decision would push me in either of those directions but a part of me was still thinking "player, player, player". I know it's not really a big detail in the grand scheme of things, but I am so glad I picked "player" (laughs).

A continuation of the last question, what are some aspirations you hope to accomplish for Year 2? What do you hope to see change or added during Year 2?

StrongLegs: For year 2, I want to completely establish my name and brand within VAL. I want to be known and respected as both an IGL and strategist.

In terms of changes, I'm not really sure what I personally want besides some minor fixes/adjustments to the game like Viper's mechanics, classic right click and some minor bugs. I think Riot is doing a great job, and I trust their direction right now.

Fracture is the newest map added to VALORANT, and the design of it is interesting to say the least. You either hate it or love it. Do you think we’ll see it being played at the highest level in upcoming events?

StrongLegs: Fracture is an intriguing map. I'm a little sad to see so many people shut it down completely before even checking it out fully and seeing how it plays. I think we need to stop treating VALORANT like a traditional FPS and allow the devs to explore neo-approaches to the map design.

I hope to see it played in the pro scene. I know our team will definitely be trying to implement it ASAP.

If you watched Masters Berlin, what were some of the highlights/key things you took from the event?

StrongLegs: Look, I'm not saying I'm a fortune teller, but I warned everyone a long time ago about the rise of the CIS scene in VALORANT.

Prophecies aside though, I wasn't that surprised to see the fall of SEN in this event. They have some of the best players in their respective roles no doubt, but I hope to see a more innovative approach from them.

Besides that, I am super excited to see that NA is still one of the most dominant regions for a change, and I hope we continue the trend!

Now more than ever, the debate on Jett and how problematic she is has been in discussion. A patch has come through that addresses her right click not resetting and only allowing her two smokes instead of three. Do you think Riot handled it right or are they just dancing around the issue?

StrongLegs: I'll start by saying that RIOT's changes to Jett have definitely been a good start. She feels a little less oppressive now. However, I think RIOT is definitely dancing around the issue.

Jett's core issue and strength is her dash and synergy with the OP. As long as these fundamental designs are not addressed, her problematic existence will persist.

Phantom or Vandal?

StrongLegs: Only a fool chooses only one ;)

Anything you’d like to conclude the interview with? Any hidden metas you want to leak to us?

StrongLegs: I won't leak the metas, but I will say BREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH.

We want to take the time to thank StrongLegs for participating in the interview, and best of luck to him and the Renegades team as they move forward!