Life Away From Home: LEV kiNgg's Battle With VCT Pressure and Homesickness
- LEV vs FUR VALORANT match kickstarts VCT Americas League playoffs week.
- Leviatán in-game leader kiNgg weighs in on the series and the
- LEV kiNgg weighs in on LEV vs FUR 20-18 Pearl match.
- How will Leviatán improve before their next series?
- Who will Leviatán play next in the VCT Americas League playoffs?
Heading into this series, neither Leviatán nor Furia could truly be viewed as the favorite. While Leviatán was technically the higher seed, both teams had similarly disappointing endings the VCT Americas League regular season. Leviatán and Furia began their season 3-1 before ultimately faltering in the later stages to end their regular season campaigns with a 4-5 record.
Yet, today’s playoff series allowed both teams to erase their late-season struggles and shine when it matters most in the postseason.
For Leviatán in-game leader Francisco “kiNgg” Aravena, today’s series against Furia Esports allowed them to showcase the team’s “strong week of practice”.
Unfortunately, a win against Furia was not in the books for Leviatán in today’s 1-2 series loss in the VCT Americas League playoffs, which told a completely different story from what they experience in practice.
“In practice, we’re doing good, and we had so much confidence that we were going to win today’s series 2-0 against Furia,” kiNgg said. “We had really great practice, but I don’t know. We just individually choked today against Furia.”
Today’s series saw Furia push Leviatán to the limit in the first maps. Despite Leviatán coming back on their signature map Pearl, the team struggled to seal the deal on Bind after a strong start. One of the biggest things kiNgg noticed was the team’s new “fear of losing,” which was absent in practice.
“It felt like a lot of us developed a fear of losing, and that stopped us from being able to replicate our level of play experienced in practice,” kiNgg said. “I think that was the biggest challenge for us in today’s series.”
LEV kiNgg’s battle with pressure and homesickness
Leviatán in-game leader kiNgg on what pushes him through tough times.
The VCT Americas League has been a new pressure level for kiNgg compared to previous years. Last year, he had gotten used to being an underdog in every tournament, and there was no pressure on his end. However, 2023 has seen Leviatán develop into one of the expected teams to make a strong run in the VCT Americas League. While he noted that it was nice they got the acknowledgment of their team strength, he truthfully shared how it has been a “new experience” for him.
“When everyone sees you as a top-three team, it can be hard to manage that pressure sometimes when you got so used to being the underdog team at events like this,” kiNgg said. “It’s been a new experience for sure.”
Everything has been a new experience for kiNgg in 2023. Not only has he felt the pressures of being a VCT Americas League contender, but it’s also been a battle of dealing with the natural struggles of being away from his family and friends.
“It’s been really hard for me,” kiNgg said. “I miss my family and my girlfriend so much. I’ve never been this far away from home, and I have really been homesick.”
While kiNgg shared that this aspect is not the sole reason for the team’s struggles lately, he did reveal that it definitely has not been an easy shift to deal with mentally.
Before the VCT Americas League regular season, kiNgg remembered how he felt after spending a month and a half in Turkey for VCT Champions 2022 and thinking, “I don’t know if I can do this again”.
A few months later, kiNgg was back on the road as 2023 became an even bigger obstacle for himself to overcome the natural stresses of being away from home to compete at the highest level.
What pushes kiNgg to keep playing despite challenges?
Leviatán during the VCT Americas League.
Yet, despite these roadblocks, this experience is something that he still would not trade as it has allowed him to live out his dream of competing against the best teams.
“It’s been hard, but I feel so motivated to do my best to win and achieve something great because opportunities to compete against the best teams don’t come often,” kiNgg said. “My desire to win helps me maintain a certain level of play despite all these setbacks.”
Leviatán’s chances of qualifying for VCT Masters Tokyo are still alive. However, their quest for another international VALORANT appearance must happen through a strong Lower Bracket run in the VCT Americas League.
For kiNgg, the main fix for the team really comes down to playing to win instead of trying not to lose.
“Everyone wants to win and do their part, but if we continue to have a mentality on stage that we have to avoid losing, then that will snowball into really bad play,” kiNgg said. “It’s hard to give a reason, but I know we have the ability to be a really strong team.”
Leviatán will return to the VCT Americas League stage on May 25, 2023, where they will take on the loser of the second Upper Bracket Semifinal.
