[Interview] The Youngest Female Radiant into Global Superstar : Shopify Rebellion Florescent's Incredible journey
"We all know that the pool of females in the competitive field is way smaller than the pool of men. But, you'll see in a few years, and there's people like Mary, who comes in 16 years old destroying everyone. There will be these girls come out dominating."
- Michaela "Mimi" Lintrup, Female Pro VALORANT Player for G2 GOZEN
(From 'Changing the Game : A VCT Documentary')
Last November, Top 8 female teams of VALORANT has come together into Sao Paulo, Brazil, to be a world champion for VCT Game Changers Championship. This year, after six consecutive days of fierce competition, Shopify Rebellion has finally crowned after defeating the Home team, Team Liquid Brazil.
I have to ask, was it meant to be? It was only a year ago that we saw G2 GOZEN's 16 year old Maryam 'Mary' Maher crowned as MVP and lifting a trophy as an upcoming superstar. But now, a 17 year-old Vietnamese Canadian phenom succeeded it, breaking the records, just dominating. That's right. I'm talking about the one and only, Shopify Rebellion's Ava "Florescent" Eugene. (@Florscnt)
Florescent appeared in VCT Game Changers scene at the age of 15, as a player for Misfits Black. Of course according to the regulation, she couldn't compete until the last season of 2022, the Game Changers Series 3. Although she couldn't make an appearance previous year, she has quickly risen as one of the most anticipated player of 2023, after she joined Version1. She and her team stomped everyone else in NA Game Changers and she was named 'NA's Walking Highlight Reel'.
She has proven herself worthy of that name and all the expectations with an extraordinary performance, breaking the records. Most Kill on a single map (35 Kills), Highest ACS points on a single map (400), and most importantly new world record for Most Kill on LAN series (112 Kills).
Now this got me wondered what's next for her. Where will she be in the next couple of years? Can we finally see the female pro who breaks the limit? What's on her mind right now? It keep bothered my and I was forced to ask about it. Luckily, during her improptu AMA session on her social media, I asked her if I could have a chat with her. And she said yes. So finally, I got to meet her earlier this week.
Q : First of all, Thank you so much for the interview. Can you please introduce yourself?
"Hello, my name is florescent and I'm a pro VALORANT player for Shopify Rebellion."
Q : How was your off-season? I heard you had a nice vacation
"I took a break from VALORANT and traveled to Korea with a friend."
Q : Was there anything memorable from your stay in Korea?
"The food and Visiting the Lotte Tower."
Q : How did you start playing VALORANT?
"I got into the game in beta when some of my Fortnite friends asked me to play. I placed in iron and I was really bad but seeing my friend Seven (@sevvn) hit radiant and be the youngest radiant in the world during beta gave me motivation to get better so I could play with him."
Q : That is very impressive. Wasn't it hard to get to the highest level when you first dived into this game?
"It was really hard. I wasn't really in school at the time but I remember being stuck in platinum for almost 10 months when I played everyday."
Q : How did you overcome that?
"Just improving over time, I was really young so concepts and playing just got easier the more I played, I learned a lot from friends too when I played."
(Her rank highlights before being a professional player. ⓒ : YouTube - Parallel Valorant)
Q : Was there any particular chance you gotten into the pro scene?
"I played some tournaments with random stacks and eventually became friends with Chrisyong (@yongwoon_chris), the coach of misfits at the time. Then one week I remember he asked me to fill for scrims while one of their players was on vacation and I performed really well. Some time after that he called me one day and asked if I wanted to be on the team.
I was still 15 and had maybe 5 more months until I was able to play so I would practice and learn without playing in tournaments but still on a full contract."
Q : What was your very first match as a pro?
"I don't really remember, I don't think it was super important."
Q : Was there anything memorable match you played? (Besides the GC Champs)
"I think the lower finals of 2022 NA Series 3 (Misfits Black vs. Shopify Rebellion), the first VCT event I played in."
(2022 NA Game Changers Series 3 Lower Semifinals. ⓒ : YouTube - Valorant Jam)
As mentioned before, Florescent appeared after her birthday, so she only competed in Series 3. Her team Misfits Black didn't have enough circuit points so they needed to win the whole thing. They have fought really hard against Shopify Rebellion GC, but eventually lost 3-2 and blew the only shot for Berlin.
Of course, there was C9 White in the Grand Finals, the team that rule the whole region for the entire year so their odds weren't that great even if they managed to win. However, for Florescent, she thought she could take that odds. So the shock of elimination was even bigger for her.
Q : That was the moment you lost the chance to get to the first LAN right? What was your feeling?
"I was pretty sad and didn't know where to go in the future."
Q : How did you overcome that anxiety?
"I think I took a break from playing. That was my last game with Misfits I think."
She eventually returned next season, after a month long break.
Q : You were eventually picked up by Version1, and met your current roster, how did that happen?
"It started with a core of me, Sarah (@Sarah_frags) and Noia (@NoiaFPS). I wanted to play with Sarah because we were close friends and we both knew Noia. and then meL (@meLanji) and Alexis (@Alexisfps) were the last two to join. Effys (@effysgo) was added a little after."
Q : That is very interesting. How was meL and Alexis when you first met?
"I have always been a fan of theirs and I was really excited to play with them."
Q : What was the most difficult thing you had to face during the regular season?
"Maybe not being able to practice because Noia had a broken arm and was stuck in Europe. The matches were easy."
Q : And yet, The last series was a surprise. What happened there with match with Evil Geniuses?
"I think we just weren't in a winning mood. We played extremely bad compared to every other day, but also we already qualified and maybe we just didn't try as hard as we should have. A lot of things went wrong. They played really good for the day and we played bad. But at the end of the day we lost and they were the better team."
Q : Did it affect your mindset going towards the championship?
"No, not really. I always have a strong mindset for matches. I was just upset we lost because I felt like we just trolled a little."
Shortly after the regular season ended, The org, Version1, released their roster right before her first LAN tournament. G2 esports made partnership with Version1, and acquired the whole organization. It could have been a major setback for preparation process, but Shopify, also released their roster recently, quickly signed them and welcome them to a new home. She recalls that the process went way smoother than she thought.
Q : Now let's talk about Champs. You literally sweeped the opponents and you were always in the center of it, did you expect that to happen?
"I hoped it would happen haha. I thought we would do well and that was about it."
Q : Who was your most formidable opponent during the Champs? Was there anyone particular you were afraid of?
"I wasn't afraid of anyone but I was excited to play against Team Liquid since we were in Brazil."
Q : Yeah. The crowd was crazy for TL but also you had the super supporter in the crowd who stole the scene every time. How did it feel?
"It was nice, but I didn't really notice. I was very focused on the game."
Q : Of course. The finals game was very intense. Especially Game 1 in particular was very hectic as I watched, which one was the hardest for you?
"I think they were all similar for me because I was so calm, but the team had the most trouble on the last map (Ascent). Lots of whiffing and bad decisions from everyone, and the communication wasn't proper."
Q : But still you all overcame as a team, finally lifted the trophy. For you particularly you broke all the GC records that stood, how did you feel?
"Actually, I was a little disappointed in my performance because I thought it should have been 3-0, but still happy we won."
Florescent and her team is aiming for VCT Challengers this year. Their IGL, Melanie 'meL' Capone openly mentioned this several times. Not only settling for 'the best female VALORANT team', they're now looking to be 'the best VALORANT team' in the world.
From Iron to Radiant. The girl who started the journey with one goal : getting good enough to play her friend, has now become the superstar of Game Changers, preparing hard to leave her mark in the VCT stage. They have won the Championship, and they want more.
The situation is not great for them though, because they didn't get the direct invite to the main event of the upcoming Game Changers Series. What's worse is the open qualifier of Game Changers almost coincides with the upcoming VCT Challengers open qualifier. So they might start this year with a bit of a bumpy ride. Nevertheless, she's trying to focus on the game, one at a time.
Q : Now for the next, I see that your teammate meL stated about VCT Challengers as well and she has openly stated that going to the mainstream was always the goal. What can we expect from you this year?
There's nothing much to say. We're just trying our best to improve more and do better in matches, that's all.
Q : Any closing words to the fans?
"Thank you for reading and supporting me and my team."
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