When the core of 100 Thieves VALORANT was first formed, many weren’t certain how fast the team would be able to grow. Initially pegged as a development roster, a lot of the expectations around the young 100 Thieves core was that 2022 would be a year for them to get used to playing as a team. However, the team’s timeline of progression happened to be a lot quicker than many people had anticipated. In just four months, 100 Thieves’ core went from a newly formed team to the VCT Champions 2022 stage.

One of the biggest pillars of the team’s accelerated growth and accomplishments is 100 Thieves coach Michael “Mikes” Hockom. After an exciting 2022 season as the team’s assistant coach, he is back in 2023 as the team’s primary coach. With additional responsibilities sprinkled on top of his existing tasks from 2022, Mikes will have quite a tall task ahead of him going forward. However, if what we saw of the team’s growth in four months in 2022 continues, the sky truly is the limit for this 100 Thieves lineup in 2023.

In this interview, we speak to 100 Thieves’ VALORANT coach Mikes to talk about the team’s accelerated growth, his own coaching philosophies, and how he goes about building a great team environment.

How to watch VCT 2023: Americas League?

You can keep up with the VCT 2023: Americas League by watching all the matches live through the VCT Americas YouTube and Twitch channels. 100 Thieves will kick off the VCT 2023: Americas League on Saturday, April 1 against Sentinels at 12pm PT.