REDEMPTION: PROF'S PLAN TO WIN AGAIN
CREDIT: NERD STREET
Rutgers Esports’ VALORANT team has been around since the start of collegiate VALORANT, cultivating a tradition of success along the way. With first place finishes in the Inaugural CF1 tournament, the MSI Radiant Cup, another CF1 tournament, and multiple top 5 finishes across other tournaments, this era is widely regarded as the best iteration of the team
One of the names behind the division’s success is in-game Leader (IGL), Mitchell “Prof” Zalecky. He’s brought a team of almost all new talent to stages like the National Finals for Red Bull Campus Clutch, and his three years of experience shine in combination with driven players who’s only focus is to improve, win, and break out into the next level of competitive VALORANT.
A Foundation of Confidence and Success
Whether its storied lineups like Northwood University or a top competitor like Fisher College, Prof feels nothing but confidence on the server because competition is where he feels at home. For the first part of his tenure at Scarlet Knights, this confidence brought the team to many top finishes and helped maintain their position in the Collegiate VALORANT Hub’s (CVH) top 30 power rankings chart. They were consistently winning and chasing new heights, like their victory against Northwood at April’s Altitude Esports Spring Open tournament, en route to a second-place finish. This, however, would become one of their final successes for the year.
CREDIT: @PROF_VAL (TWITTER)
The Fall
Soon after, the core of Rutgers VALORANT that found success dismantled, with players like "frutta" moving on from competitive VALORANT and others graduating. The loss of veteran talent, stress from multiple angles, and a lack of motivation took its toll on the remaining roster’s performance. Rutgers fell out of the Top 30 Power Rankings by the end of the Fall Season. When asked about his overall thoughts from the semester, Prof was realistic.
“This semester was a really challenging semester for us as a team. We were very inconsistent. When we were hot, we were hot and playing really well together. When we were cold it's like we forgot how to play the game altogether.
“This might have been the worst semester in Scarlet Knights history, but I believe that we can only go up from here,” Prof said.
Mental Resilience
Losses are painful, and when they come in groups it can feel like an uncontrollable hailstorm of dismay. For Prof, however, these setbacks are all a part of what makes each and every success that much more rewarding, a mindset developed through years competing.
Prof however has extraordinary resilience as a result of almost three years of competitive experience, and despite the “‘awful performances”, the team was able to come up with a few successes like second place at the Beltway Battles LAN tournament where they played their “best games of the semester”. In the face of such a difficult season Prof’s confidence has still not wavered.
“When it comes to competitive Valorant I feel like I have a lot of experience. I’ve played competitively for almost three years now and I know how to win, I know what it takes, and what we have to do,” Prof said. “I don't think there are a lot of IGLs better than me in the Collegiate scene.”
CREDIT: HASHTAG GAMING ARENA
The Rebuild
To save Scarlet Knights VALORANT from fading into obscurity, it's going to take a lot of work after last semester, but it seems like Prof is ready to make it happen. He wants to start from the ground up, stating that he wants to “install a winning culture and do whatever it takes to get there”.
With a major roster shakeup expected to happen, it’ll be up to him as the IGL to provide the leadership required to take willing talent to new heights.
“When it comes down to it I'm a competitor and I love to win, so that alone keeps me going and wanting to grind to become the best team that we can be no matter what team I'm playing for,” Prof concludes.
What’s Next for the Scarlet Knights?
With a motivated leader like Prof and so many extraordinarily talented players in the program, a turnaround for Rutgers going into this spring semester is entirely possible. It will most definitely be an uphill battle though. As time has passed in the collegiate VALORANT scene, schools have ramped up spending in their Esports departments, paying huge scholarships for the top talent, building state of the art facilities for them to play in, and providing them with some of the top coaching that is available. The players at Rutgers however have an unflinching nerve when it comes to competition, and this attitude is exemplified by Prof’s stance that “even though Rutgers doesn’t provide our team with as much funding compared to other schools, we have still been able to build a culture in years past and really create a family. This also makes the wins against top teams that do get funding and have all the facilities even better, because they are able to see each other everyday and build that chemistry.” There is pride in being the underdog, and all the more glory to reap with every victory.
Scarlet Knights in the Trials of Triumph
In the past two Altitude Esports tournaments, the Scarlet Knights have come in first and second respectively, and the team is excited to test the Scarlet Knights’ mettle in the next tournament coming this month: The Trials of Triumph, where we have partnered with Healthy Gamer to provide gaming focused mental health guides to the winner along with their cash prize. This tournament will feature even more talent and competition from across the collegiate and tier 3 scene than the last two, so stay tuned for details.
Written by: Kier Hunt