SEN zekken discusses team changes and his thoughts on Red Bull Home Ground

If you're a fan of VALORANT, you'll want to tune in to the Red Bull Home Ground NA qualifier on September 29, 2024. One team participating is Sentinels, a fan-favorite in any tournament these days. And on Sentinels is, of course, Zachary "zekken" Patrone.

He's been a focal point of the team for some time now, and we chatted with him prior to Red Bull Home Ground kicking off. He gave us his thoughts on his team's changes, who to look out for in the tournament, and his thoughts on OFF//SEASON events as a whole.

"Firstly, we’ve got to touch on the big changes to SEN already in the off-season. Two huge pieces of the team have rode off into the sunset together. What impact has TenZ and Sacy retiring had on you personally and the team as a whole?"

zekken: "It definitely left a hole in my heart. I'm going to miss both of them a lot. It was great to play with them, but, thankfully NA has a lot of new and upcoming talent to, hopefully, fill their roles. So, I'm excited for what the next season brings."

"From your perspective then, how big are the shoes they left behind to fill in terms of Sentinels and the overall landscape of VALORANT esports?"

zekken: "There are definitely huge, huge shoes to fill. I mean, it's two multiple time World Champions leaving. Stepping away from competing. So, they're definitely leaving a big hole, both in the team and in the esport as a whole. But, hopefully, they're onto better things."

"Well, let’s talk about the team as it stands now. Three core members in place and a couple of stand-ins for this Red Bull Home Ground qualifier. Tell me what curry and Reduxx bring to the team."

zekken: "Both of those players are cracked. They are really, really strong individually. And you know, we've been trying to work them into the team, into our system the past few days. They're just really strong players and really good to work with."

"And what are you hoping to see from them?"

zekken: "I'm hoping they just play like themselves and play with confidence. I don't want them to come in and be like, 'Oh, we really need to fill the roles and play like Sacy and TenZ to a T.' I just want them to play like themselves, and have fun, and play confident. And I'm sure we'll be fine,"

"I’m sure you can’t give too many, or perhaps any details at all. And there’s still plenty of time before next season begins, but is there anything you can tell me about a full, official Sentinels roster falling into place?"

zekken: "We're slowly trying to piece everything together. We're just trying to get as many reps in as we can with the core, and whoever new that we can get, trying to get as much practice with them as possible. But, yeah, we're just trying to slowly piece the puzzle together."

"Alright, let’s move on to the event itself. Red Bull Home Ground has become a staple of the VALORANT OFF//SEASON. How important is it to have a tournament like this one in order to keep your skills sharp or even to just have fun after the VCT ends for the year?"

zekken: "I think it's really important. I wasn't at the last Red Bull tournament, but I did get to watch it, and it was really fun to watch. I'm sure it would have been great to to play in, but I played in a lot of OFF//SEASON tournaments last year.

"And I think that was really important for our team to get good, to get the reps in. I think it's really important to have events like these for teams, if they just want to have fun or if they're trying to seriously practice and get ready for the season."

"In regards to the VCT and its season, we've heard from the community and even some players about how maybe there aren't enough matches and events. Do you feel like these OFF//SEASON tournaments are a good replacement?"

zekken: "I think so. The best teams in the world, if anything, get to play three LANs a year with how the VCT circuit is. I personally would prefer to play in as many tournaments as possible. So, getting the opportunity to play in these OFF//SEASON ones is really, really big for me."

"Okay, and the field of opponents for Home Ground. Cloud9, who has stand-ins of their own, MxS, and YFP. Some ‘Tier 2’ teams in the mix, but obviously players you’re familiar with, that have been in the VCT before. What player stands out to you as potentially being a problem in this tournament?"

zekken: "I would say all the Duelist players, from every team. They're really good. OXY from Cloud9, really strong. You know, he showed out last year. Mada for MxS. He's been playing really, really well, both in Challengers and in scrims.

"Oh my god <holds up hands and laughs>. But he's been playing really well. I've seen him trying out for some teams, and Penny as well for YFP. He's been a really strong player for a long time. I think the Duelists on all the teams are really, really strong, so they're going to be fun to play."

"So, have you guys gotten in a lot of scrim time curry and Reduxx? And how many full matches would you say you've gotten to practice?"

zekken: "I want to say we have three or four days of practice along, and we're going to try and practice after media today as well. So, about three or four scrims a day for those three or four days. I want to say like 10 to 12 full matches with the team."

"Lastly for you then, with this being a tournament away from the major stakes of the official VALORANT Champions Tour, can we expect anything out of the ordinary? Or just business as usual?"

zekken: "I see it as business as usual. I mean, we're not running anything particularly crazy that's going to, like, sweep people off their feet. We're just running good, solid comps. I think it'll be fun to play."

Stay tuned to esports.gg for more esports news and VALORANT coverage.