Nerves, lack of stage experience the difference in The Guard’s loss to OpTic at Masters

The North American duel between The Guard and OpTic Gaming at Masters: Reykjavík saw both teams battle back-and-forth in a tight three-game series where the final rounds on Fracture were the tipping point.

For The Guard’s Jonah “JonahP” Pulice, that moment was during the 16th round of Fracture, when The Guard held a 10-5 lead over OpTic Gaming and were just three round wins away from winning the match.

“We lost an important round against Marved when he aced us, and I am pretty sure that was the turning point of the game for us,” JonahP said. “That was the momentum swing, and they played great and we choked. Can’t take credit away from that.”

Throughout that final map on Fracture, OpTic Gaming looked outmatched and outpaced by The Guard. Yet, even when they were down, Austin “crashies” Roberts and the team never wavered in confidence.

“We knew that we were coming back and that we were still in it, we never just give up,” crashies said. “I’m just glad the team had the composure they did today.”

Nerves were nearly nonexistent on the side of OpTic Gaming. For a team that has represented North America on the international stage three times, they were aware of the nerves that could affect The Guard.

This is something that Austin “crashies” Roberts believes was the tipping point on Fracture and one the team capitalized on.

For crashies and OpTic, this was their third international event. Photo credit: Riot Games

“We have a lot of stage experience, so I do not think any of us were nervous in those final moments,” crashies said. “We actually prefer to grind out those rounds and let the time get low because we know that they will start thinking about it and the nerves will hit them.”

One of the most experienced teams in a LAN environment, OpTic Gaming were unwavered in those final moments, something that The Guard’s in-game leader Jacob “valyn” Batio commended them for.

“I can confidently say that we didn't play differently and we did a lot of the same stuff we do in practice, that works well, but they were just shutting it down,” valyn said. “It was hard for us to adapt in the moment, and they capitalized on our nerves and jitters. They played well.”

The Guard were new onstage, unlike OpTic. By being North America’s first seed, The Guard received a spot in the Masters: Reykjavík playoffs and bypassed the group stage. Although it’s a good way to incentivize first seeds for being the best team in their region, Michael “neT” Bernet wishes things had been different.

“I would’ve preferred to play on stage during that group stage because we are very new as a team,” neT said. “We have only been together for three months, and four out of the five of us have no prior LAN experience. Having that time on stage would have helped us acclimate better.”

Getting used to the stage is something that all teams will struggle with at one point. Even OpTic Gaming, who have experience playing on LAN, had those initial nerves in their first loss against XERXIA and are thankful for those extra matches.

“That first series against XERXIA definitely woke us up because it was our first LAN match in quite a while, and we were actually nervous and a bit tense that match." crashies shared. “We got those nerves and all the bad stuff out of our system after that and just feel a lot better now.”

Valyn is The Guard's in-game leader. Photo credit: Riot Games

Valyn said he saw both pros and cons to receiving their direct seed, before ultimately siding with a viewpoint different from his peers.

“It’s hard to choose because I think playing group stages is really helpful, but at the same time, everyone in the group stage is pretty good,” valyn said. “I don’t think teams should go straight to playoffs, but I would choose this option because VALORANT is really random and that extra time to prep is helpful.”

Nonetheless, The Guard were cognizant of the environmental differences between playing on stage versus online, but in their eyes, the only thing they can do now is learn from it and move on to their next series.

“During crunch time, we messed up a little bit. We knew we could have taken the series, but we choked it,” valyn said. “But it’s all good, we got the nerves out of the way this series, and the only thing we can do is focus on the next game because we have no time to dwell on this match.”

The Guard know that the road through the lower bracket will not be easy. Still, even after a tough loss, The Guard are confident in their own abilities to bounce back as a team because of their resilience.

JonahP is confident The Guard will bounce back. Photo credit: Riot Games

“We’re good at bringing each other up, and we know how to move on and reset. That is what makes us so strong as a team,” JonahP said. “We are going to reset and move on to our next series, and like I’ve said before, we never lose twice.”

The Guard are now in the lower bracket where they will take on Paper Rex in a fight for their tournament lives. While he’s confident in his team’s abilities, valyn sees Paper Rex as a formidable opponent that they cannot take for granted.

“If we want to win tomorrow, we have to learn how to adapt to Paper Rex because they are a very strong team, and they are going to throw stuff at us,” valyn said. “If we don’t know how to react well then we might not win that match. We just have to step up as individuals, which I think we will do moving forward.”

The Guard will take on Paper Rex on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. As for OpTic Gaming, their upper bracket semifinal match against DRX will be played Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games