Esports and sports have a lot in common whether it be the storylines and matchups, the constant evolution of the sport, the up-and-coming talent. For all the positives both share, there is one major detractor they share: the offseason. It has only been a little over a month since EU became the first inaugural VALORANT Champion, but it has most certainly dragged with the lack of high level organized play to fill the gap.

It hasn’t been an overwhelming drag, however, as we’ve seen plenty of smaller tournaments pop up to itch the competitive scratch. Most recently, the Pittsburgh Knights put together the VALORAMPAGE tournament featuring a protect and ban system as a way to shake up the current formula right before the 2022 season starts. Today, we took the time to speak to one of the casters from the event, Rome “Rome” Gandelsman, about his casting career, his thoughts on the event’s formula and looking ahead to the new season.

You normally cast the Knights Arena events, smaller tournaments that provide some very good matches. Can you tell us a bit about how you started covering the events and what your experience has been like covering them? Also, for the aspiring casters out there, what advice would you give them?

Rome: Getting started was such a weird process. I’d kind of thrown around the idea of trying to see if it was possible to cast some VALORANT since I was enjoying the game and watching competitive play. I think I first got started by replying to a post in the Valoran competitive subreddit and just said: “Hey, I have no experience. Can I cast?” I’m happy it worked out, but especially early on, I just messaged people whenever I saw an opportunity. Whenever I was given one, I tried to make the most of it.

Since I started covering events somewhat frequently this past fall I’ve just tried to really fully dive into the process. I don’t have a background in tac FPS, but I’ve tried to learn as much as possible and make sure I understood how the game was played at a high level. I watched so much VALORANT content on YouTube over the last year, but I always was so nervous that I didn’t know enough or wasn’t credible enough to cast competitive play. Honestly, that desire to learn was mainly motivated by anxiety more than anything else. Over time, I’ve gotten more into my prep routine, and it’s become a real point of pride for me. I really enjoy knowing what match I’m going to cast ahead of time; it gives me the ability to prepare thoroughly and make sure I understand the teams and all the individuals in the server.

In terms of actually casting the matches it’s been an absolute thrill. I’m really grateful that I’ve been able to work with a lot of really nice people who’ve made learning the ropes of the broadcast a lot easier. I’ve also done a lot of casting with a consistent partner, Marks, who’s been so much fun to cast with. The fact that we’ve been able to cast a few matches together makes it that much easier to grow and improve from broadcast to broadcast.

As far as advice I’d just say put yourself out there, be professional, and above all be as genuine as possible. I don’t know that I’m really qualified to give any advice, but this seems to have worked out for me so far.

The most recent Knights event, VALORAMPAGE, introduced a protect and ban element in their matches allowing each team to protect two agents and ban one for the duration of the series. As you can imagine, there has been some critical opinions/suggestions of the system since the game still has a small cast of agents versus games like Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege and League of Legends. Given you actually were a caster for the event, in your honest opinion, how do you think that system performed?

Rome: My biggest disappointment was that so many times it was the “meta” agents like Jett, Sova, Skye, Viper that were protected. It makes complete sense for the competitors who are about to play VCT and are fighting for a spot in the open qualifier in a couple weeks, so I definitely understand the strategy. There’s no real long-term benefit to any of them trying a weird or different strategy. I look at it now as more of a pilot program.

If Riot is looking to continue adding agents at the current rate, then down the line an agent ban system will be a more interesting element to play. I think it’s cool that they’re trying things out, but I definitely think we have some time before agent bans are actually an additive element to competitive play.

A topic that’s seen some discussion across the net is the topic of “instalocks” and how Riot can combat them with Riot presenting the idea of “cascading picks”. That said the response has been pretty mixed as it doesn’t really solve the issue of instalocking. What do you think would be the best solution for this issue?

Rome: I don’t know that there’s a solution that will definitely solve the problem once and for all. If it were up to me, I’d add 20 seconds before you can lock an agent to give the team time to discuss things before you can even lock an agent in. Once that timer is up, I’d just say you should be able to lock an agent, and then change your mind and switch. I’ve never understood why the need to have a hard commitment to the agent is needed, maybe there’s something that I’m missing but that’s what I’d try.

Since Champions concluded, the agent pool has expanded with the additions of Chamber and Neon. Chamber has been seeing a lot of play in the smaller tournaments such as NSG tourneys (Steel in particular comes to mind recently). Do you think we’ll see the new agents come into play come qualifiers?

Rome: I think Chamber is much more likely to see an immediate integration into teams’ agent pools. The one thing both Chamber and Neon have going for them is their ultimates that are essentially another weapon just like Jett’s Bladestorm. I think Chamber’s is really powerful and the economic impact of the ult adds to his kit. Neon on the other hand has a bit of a weaker ult and I’m not sure how valuable it really is, but I’m excited to see what teams can try to implement with Neon in the future.

To be clear, I like Neon as an agent. She seems fun and there may be some potential that becomes clearer with time and people testing things out, but I just don’t see what she does to improve the typical duelist picks that we see now. Her mobility is really interesting, but her slide mechanic doesn’t really give her an “untradeability” mechanic which is becoming par for the course these days at the highest level of play.

Going off of the last question, Landon Summers of Upcomer wrote up a good piece talking about the 2021 Champions Tour chronicling the rise and fall of agent picks as the year progressed and as metas changed. In December, Riot came out and talked about how 2022 will see a bigger focus on agent reworks. Pretend you’re in Riot’s shoes right now focusing on said changes. How would you balance some of the lesser picked agents to bring them up to scale with the higher picks and vice versa?

Rome: *Cracks knuckles*. I just want Phoenix to be good again. I don’t really care about anyone else, but I stay up late at night thinking about him. Here’s my thought; he’s got the whole fire thing going for him, when I think about that I think, aggression, power and speed. I would love to see Phoenix’s flash become his signature ability and have it recharge on kills. I also want the time it takes to flash to be reduced like crazy. I think if you did all that and buffed his wall damage a bit while allowing it to travel through objects that he might be a bit more formidable. I’d also change his ult to make the timer extend on the ult by a few seconds with each kill. I don’t know if this makes him OP or not, and frankly I don’t care. I just want the fire boy to be good.

Quite a few of NA’s teams have seen significant shake ups in light of some disappointing results last season, and we’ve seen new teams enter the fray such as The Guard (from the Guard). As the season looks to kick off next week, in the spirit of overreactions and hype, what do you think of the roster moves and newcomers?

Rome: It’s hard for me to not be a little biased in this because I feel like I always tend to think of the players I’ve casted because they are often the ones with whom I am most familiar. Speaking of players I’ve casted, and The Guard, I genuinely think they got an absolute steal in picking up Trent (previously Habib) to play Sova. I casted him playing with ex-FLICKBAITERS, and I was blown away by the impact he had. Impressive fragging, solid utility use, and overall good decision making, what more could you want? I had some doubts about The Guard early on, but I think the current roster looks to have a chance at making some noise.

I also think the BabyJ signing has gone a bit under the radar. I’m not sure it will take 100T to the same levels as last year, but he’s a great addition to the team. It’s not the same as when they brought nitr0 in obviously, but I think it’s a really solid pick-up for them. Last one for me is XSET adding Cryocells into the fold. I’m expecting them to do quite well this year.

Based on the previous question, who’s a team you think fans should pay close attention to as the season looks to start?

Rome: I really think XSET is a dangerous squad in NA that has flown under the radar since they weren’t able to qualify for Berlin over the summer. Even leading up to NA LCQ, it seemed like no one was giving them much of a chance, and they did end up falling short. I think with more time as a group and with Cryocells in the mix they can improve upon their form from last year. Also, the Rise roster that looks like it’s going to be under a new org should still scare the hell out of every team in NA. They have a lot of potential as a group.

Anything you’d like to conclude the interview with?

Rome: Remember to take some time and do things that make you feel good about yourself. There are days that I catch myself being too online, obsessively looking at box scores on VLR and just getting sucked into various things on the internet, VALORANT related or otherwise. I’ve been trying to remember to read a couple of chapters of a book, take a walk, pet my dogs or just do something that I know makes me feel good when I’m starting to get bogged down by it all. I just think striving for a balanced life is important, and that’s what I’m working on right now so I guess that’s what I’ve got.

We want to thank Rome for taking the time to participate in this interview. Be sure to follow him on his casting journey as he frequently casts the Knights events, and we wish him the best on his casting journey!