One of India’s most popular and oldest Valorant teams Velocity Gaming has been experimenting with its lineup adjustments lately. During the recent Valorant Challengers League (VCL) 2023: South Asia (SA) Split 2 matchup between Velocity GaminG and MLT Esports, Velocity Gaming replaced Adam "ec1s" Eccles with Anuj "Amaterasu" Sharma as the in-game leader (IGL). Sagnik "Hellff" Roy of Velocity Gaming recently revealed why the team made this decision.

Amaterasu Replaced ec1s As IGL of Velocity Gaming Due To Communication Barrier

In the post match interview with Hellff, Hellff revealed the team was mostly focusing on communicating in Hindi rather than English during its matches. The primary reason for this change was the length of the English words which made it challenging to convey emotions behind the calls. As a result, the team struggled to both understand and communicate with each other, leading to chaos and confusion on the server.

Furthermore, Hellff commended Amaterasu'sIGL skills, which helped the Indian players feel more comfortable and execute their plans effectively. Hellff expressed his belief that Amaterasu's leadership played a significant role in the team's victory against MLT Esports. However, he also stated that the team's outcome against Orangutan Gaming would not have changed even if Amaterasu was the one leading the side in that series since everyone's aim was off during the match.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULjUbK4ja0c 

Although this experiment turned out well for Velocity Gaming, the lineup adjustments have not always resulted in favorable outcomes. The experiment of substituting Debanjan "DEATHMAKER" Das with Anuj "Amaterasu" Sharma during the playoffs of VCL 2023: South Asia Split 1 had an unfavorable outcome, leading to an exit from the tournament. Furthermore, the organization dropped Domagoj "Doma" Fancev from its playing five against Orangutan in its opening group stage match of the VCL 2023: South Asia Split 2, which resulted in a 2-0 loss.

Velocity Gaming's decision to replace ec1s with Amaterasu as the IGL against MLT Esports was a bold move but paid off well for the team. It will be interesting to see if Velocity Gaming continues with Amaterasu as the IGL or brings ec1s back.