GMB Chronicle sat down with Gamelevate to discuss his reactions after qualifying for Champions and Masters Berlin Quarter Finals, individual performance, issues finding momentum, and the matchup against Vision Strikers in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov is a 19-year-old of Russian descent who is currently signed to Gambit Esports’s Valorant roster. He began his professional career with FishkaVTom and was signed three months later, on 28th September 2021, to Gambit Esports. Chronicle is known for playing Sova on Ascent, Icebox, and Bind; Viper on Split; and Brimstone on Haven.
Gamelevate was given the opportunity to interview Chronicle after Gambit Esports’ match against Crazy Raccoon wherein they defeated the latter on Ascent (13-8) and Icebox (14-12), using Sova on both maps. Chronicle managed to pull a 15/10/9 on Ascent with a combat score of 191, and 20/18/2 on Icebox with a combat score of 221.
From not being able to make Masters Reykjavik to representing the CIS region in the quarter-finals of Masters Berlin, how do feel after your victory?
Actually, the first thing I want to say is that I’m so excited that we qualified for the Champions. And also, it was a great match because [Crazy Raccoon] played really well. They played well and displayed their best performance against us.
You guys demolished CR in the opening match on Icebox. However, they pushed you to the limits in the 14-12 win this time around. What do you feel was the difference?
It’s actually as I said before, they played really well. They’re always countering us, always ending up doing something that would counter our duelists or specialists. They also played without any pressure, which I believe was one of the reasons of their poor performance in our first matchup against them.
On Ascent your performance in the first half was relatively subpar, but came back extremely strong in the second half and ended up with an overall 2.4 KDA. How did you manage to turn around your performance so fast?
It’s actually hard to say because I didn’t review my game yet. While I can make frags easily, the problem is that I am always playing last in the team. It’s hard for me to get any frags and if my team gets eliminated, I am unable to do anything because the opposition can just kill me easily. Having a high combat score in the attack phase isn’t possible for me, but on defense it’s pretty easy because I play the anchor role in my team. Making some frags is really cool because it helps create a really good situation for my team and it helps them perform well.
Coming out of the gate on both maps, Gambit wasn’t looking well. What do you think was lacking in the first few rounds, was it chemistry, utility usage, miscommunication?
On Ascent, it was a lack of communication, as well as the fact that Crazy Racoon was countering our strategies. We needed some time to adapt to them to start winning some rounds. On Icebox, it was the same thing that we faced with 100 Thieves. Not only did we need some time to adapt, but we were also a bit nervous because it was a really important match for us. So maybe that’s one thing that really ruined our performance at the start. But on matches, we had a good comeback and that’s all that matters.
Now that you guys have qualified and know that Vision Strikers are your next opponents, what do you think of your quarter-finals opponents factoring in their recent performances?
They are a very strong opponent and have played really well in this tournament. It will be a great match because they will come prepared for us, and we will have enough time to prepare for them. It will be a good game.
Vision Strikers said they are saving Lakia for the knockouts. Do you feel that adds extra pressure on you and others to try and prepare for them?
No, I don’t think so.
Would you like to say anything to Vision Strikers before your matchup?
I don’t really have anything to say to them.
If you manage to succeed in the quarter-finals as well, which team are you looking forward to facing the most?
Maybe I want to meet with the Sentinel or ENVY, because we didn’t have a chance to play against them in the entire tournament, so it’ll be really cool if we have a chance to play with them.
Will you be able to celebrate your victory today or do you have to go back to practice?
We’re going back to practice and preparing for our opponents. We don’t have time to celebrate right now because we need to prepare and win the match against Vision Strikers, as it is the quarter-finals. I believe that we did not show our full potential today. At the moment, we are already qualified for Champions, which means that there’s no pressure really, and we aren’t nervous either. So, it’s a good time to show how strong we really are now.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
