In an exclusive interview with Sheep Esports conducted after 100 Thieves' loss to Leviatán, Drew "Kess" Lee reflects on his sudden rise from the VALORANT Challengers League (VCL) to the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Americas, having joined the roster just before the tournament began. He talks about his mixed feelings regarding his performance compared to the team's overall effort, the practical challenges of adapting quickly, and the support he has received from experienced teammates such as Peter "Asuna" Mazuryk and Matthew "Cryocells" Panganiban.

How do you feel about your performance against Leviatán?

Drew "Kess" Lee: "I had some good moments but definitely didn't end as strongly as I wanted to. Towards the end, it kind of felt impossible as a whole, rather than individually, kind of falling off. Definitely, can always play better.

You joined the roster just before the stage began. How did you manage the quick jump from Challengers to playing on the big stage?

Kess: Honestly, it's still an ongoing process. It was so sudden,
I'm still learning things as we go, and I thankfully have the help of many veterans like Asuna or Cryocells. These guys really helped me through these obstacles that other "normal" tier one professionals do not have. At first, it was like playing on stage, like getting used to your setup, rather than all the nerves.
Cause nerves go away after a while in games. It's more like getting my sound settings right, getting my keyboard settings right. Because there's a lot to think about on match days, so sometimes you tend to forget about these things, even if they're separate. So a lot of the veterans in my team helped me refine my little routine that I got to do while I'm on stage.

What was the biggest adjustment for you when moving from the Challengers scene to this top-level competition?

Kess: The biggest adjustment was role and circumstances. I went from playing online every day at home at a Challenger's level to flying out to Los Angeles and playing a match in two days of practice. It was obviously extremely difficult. I don't think I've actually mentally adjusted, or I've really realized in a way that I am doing it. I feel like I'm still in this phase where my brain is still in Austin, Texas. I'm not here. I might be here, but I'm not really.

What part of your game are you most satisfied with, and what do you think you can still improve?

Kess: A lot of times, my role in the team is to fill in the gaps and, in a way, be a lot more selfless and be willing to give some part of my game up to help other people. I do think I've been doing a good job of that. So that is something I take pride in.

How have your interactions with your new teammates been in such a short time?

Kess: My interactions with all my teammates are amazing. They're all really nice, really supportive. In more than one way, I've had teammates, especially before my first match, who could tell I was very anxious, nervous, basically freaking out. I've had them message me that, "You're an insane player, we chose you for a reason. We have no doubts that you're going to be the best". They really instilled that faith within me.

Did you manage to sleep the night before your first official, or was it too stressful?

Kess: Yeah, it was rough waking up here and there. Most of the time, I was afraid of being late to the office. So I was like, "Oh my God, did I sleep through my alarm?" but it's like four hours before, like 5 a.m., when I still need to be sleeping. And then I'll go back to sleep, do it again, like half an hour later. It was pretty stressful.

You have mostly played the Initiator role, and your team already has another one. How are you adapting your agent pool and role to fit the team’s needs?

Kess: The thing about Initiators is that there are some aspects that I have not given up still, even if I'm playing Sentinel right now. A lot of what Initiators are at the core is supporting your teammates and being in a position to support them. I'm just kind of doing that in a more macro sense with the Sentinel. I'll create pressure on the other side of the map to either alleviate pressure or get more information from my teammates to kind of react off of. So in that way, I feel like it's the same kind of characteristic. I also think that a lot of times I'll be more of a support player in a different way. Sometimes I'll frontline and be the one person walking up with by dropping someone else a gun, getting the info... Then other people go somewhere else, or react to my info. So I would say a lot of the things that I do are still supportive, just a little bit more individualistic supportive.

We’ve seen how sharp your aim is on the server, with several clutch moments. What’s your secret to being so accurate?

Kess: My secret for having good aim is, unironically, training. I have this routine that I do every single day, and it takes a long time. It's something that I treat like something that is mandatory in whatever I do. It's an aim routine that lasts about an hour and a half every night. In the morning, I warm up with half of that aim routine. And then I jump into a server and I play ranked deathmatch. Doing all those things as a player needs to do to kind of look sharp on stage. I don't miss my routine, never. Even if I win a match, I still do my routine every night. I lose a match, I do my routine. I only see these things as more of a reason to do my routine rather than to go away from it. And this is definitely one of the parts that are not pretty as like a professional. Sometimes people ask me, "What is your aim routine so I can do it?" And I'm like, "No, you don't want to do it. You might be able to do it once or twice. You will not be able to do it for longer than a week. I promise you that. And I feel some level of insanity that you need to be willing to sit there and do the same routine and the long routine at that for the last like a year and a half."

What kind of advice or support have you received from coaches or teammates to prepare for VCT matches?

Kess: The advice I get from them is obviously a lot of technical advice. Do this, this, this, this in a match and it'll be good. Other than that, it's more or less, "You're good, man. You can do it". It's more self-confidence instilling, and just being able to give me my best chance at killing the other team.

How do you mentally prepare for your matches, dealing with nerves and focusing on the game plan on match days?

Kess: Nerves are a big thing. And the thing is, everybody has a level of nerves. When you look at the veterans next to me, you don't see them get nervous at all. They've gone through the gauntlet and have understood how they need to think on match days. I'm still kind of getting that down. Realizing how to treat myself, be less judgmental towards myself, and be a little bit more compassionate to myself. If you are in my shoes, you literally came out of nowhere, and you're put on a big stage, told to perform at an extremely high level. There are a lot of thoughts of doubt that go through your head. And my first step was to be a little bit more compassionate, be willing to say, "You know what? You didn't play as well. That's okay. You have it next week". It's a hard game. It's like you're doing something new. It'd be weird if I really played well every single game, first time on stage, or first stage in general as a rookie. It is tough out there. So just being able to give myself a little bit of space. Sometimes it won't go all that pretty and all that. Sunshine and Rainbows. I think that's what kind of helped me with my nerves.

After starting 3–2, what personal goals have you set for yourself and for the team for the rest of the stage?

Kess: Honestly, we want to get the Champions, so top four or top two. Those are our goals. For myself, keep learning, never stop. I haven't stopped learning, and I don't plan to stop learning and stay hungry. Because at the end of the day, there are moments of brilliance that I would say that I show on stage, where it's like, "Wow, this guy is good". And then there are moments where it's like, "Oh, I don't know where he went this game. Today on Lotus, where did he go? I didn't see him". Things like that. Just being able to consistently bring those moments of brilliance to show how good I am to other people and to show that we can be a strong contender in this region.