19 May 2020

kryzql: Winner of the first AIM Challenge

Thomas is 24 years old and almost as many years of playing Counter-Strike. Behind the nickname kryzql, he took up and won our AIM Challenge on the Valorant training map. It took him 95 seconds to shoot down a hundred armored bots. A formidable precision that he puts at the service of his teammates on Valorant.

We wanted to ask him a few questions.

Mandatory: What’s your experience on FPS, and in competitive FPS especially?

kryzql: I started playing CS for fun when I was 9 years old. I played it thanks to the older brother of a friend who bought CS 1.6. I get back to the game on Counter-Strike Source when I was 14, this time competitively. I played in EAS Division 1 at ESL Tournaments. Then I played CS:GO as soon as I had access to its beta, in July 2012.

I have played in many teams. Particularly in the nSydia team in 2013, with XpG currently playing at TheDice. I also went through Saphire-Gaming, Angel-Wings and others. I also did a dozen LANs on the game, in mix and in teams. In 2015, I qualified in FPL-Challenger.

Mandatory: You already have some experience! Have you ever won titles or competitions?

kryzql: The best result I have done is 2 top 3 in LAN. I’ve also won a lot of online tournaments. I qualified as a team and in a mix several times in ECN playoffs, and in Open on ESEA.

That being said, I didn’t try to break into the French sub-top of CS:GO. I didn’t like the ego of French players. I rather play with friends than to play in teams that give me some position.

Mandatory: Have you ever tried to form your own team?

kryzql: I did, but it’s complicated to do esports when you don’t have the means to live off them or spend days training. When I tried to form a team, we had to split up for various reasons, so I focused on my studies.

Mandatory: What’s your current rank on Valorant?

kryzql: I’m Immortal 3. I had to play a total of 10 ranked games. Right now, I’m mostly focusing on my current teammates and tournaments.

Mandatory: How much time did you spend on our AIM Challenge before submitting your time?

kryzql: I think the first day I was told about it, I must have spent 30 minutes on it. First, I had to understand the specificities of the challenge and the training mode of Valorant. I made my 95 seconds time a few days later during a warm-up before a tournament.

Mandatory: Do you think that this kind of training allows you to improve in real games with stakes?

kryzql: Knowingly: yes. This kind of training improves your individual AIM. It helps you in duels. But honestly, it stops here. It’s very limited compared to everything you need to master to be a good player, in any case, to be a good team player.

I still think that the best way to train your AIM is deathmatch (which is currently absent from Valorant). Against human adversaries, the movements have nothing to do with bots’.

Mandatory: What do you think of the current state of Valorant and how do you see its future?

kryzql : It’s difficult to answer this question. Valorant is still in the beta stage. I think Valorant have a great future ahead of it, because it brings together players from very different backgrounds, be it Overwatch, CS:GO, Paladins, Apex Legends and so on. It has something to please all types of players.

One thing is certain for me, Riot will make it the best FPS of the next decade at esports level. It could certainly overtake CS:GO. I have a lot more confidence in Riot with Valorant than in Valve who isn’t listening to his community with CS:GO.

Mandatory: A last word?

kryzql: I would like to thank mistrA and eNC, who have always been there for me; the lotusbloeM community and its 1.6 briscards; the ARDSKY team which is still fighting in the EU subtop on CS:GO: my current teammates on Valorant: titz, v1sual, zenkA and eNc; the best mentor I’ve had on CS:GO: kOLBATh. Good luck to KATOP to finally qualify for FPL. Thanks to the other participants for this challenger. And thank you to the Mandatory team, which unites this young Francophone community of Valorant!

Thanks to his talent, kryzql wins a €50 PaySafe Card. Stay tuned for new challenges on Mandatory.GG!