The Los Angeles Valiant had a tumultuous season so far following an 0-8 start. Their fans are one of the most passionate in the entire Overwatch League and are yearning for a win. In their match against the Atlanta Reign in Stage 2 Week 2, the Valiant and their fans finally have something to cheer for -- their first win of the season after a 3-2 victory. With the monkey lifted off their shoulders, the Valiant can now focus on achieving more wins this season.



After the win, Pan-seung "Fate" Koo, tank for the Los Angeles Valiant, had a full English interview with Inven Global about getting the first win of the season, what the team is improving on each week, and also has something to say to their cross-town rivals, Los Angeles Gladiators.





▲ Photo by Robert Paul





How does it feel for you to finally get that first win?



It's the first win so I'm happy, but I'm not happy at the same time. Even if we win, we didn't play as good as scrims. Especially, I didn't play well. I'm happy but I'm a little unhappy as well.





I understand that there's still so much work to do for the Valiant. What can help you turn those losses into wins moving forward?



I think after practice we played pretty well. I feel even I do not bring it in the match, but I think I do really good in practice and scrims. It helps us when we have a good practice. That's what I think will help us win.





For yourself, what have you been focusing on during practice?



We are just focusing on improving like fixing mistakes after each match. We do VOD reviews and see things we can focus on each week.











Can you tell me what things the team goes over each week?



Basically, it's been communication. We try to give feedback on everything.





I know that communication is a big thing this season. What things did you work on to improve communication?



Coaches point out our communication like every match and every day. Every scrim block, they tell us that we should communicate better in one aspect. I think coaches keep reminding us about our communication. I can say we got better with communication than before. It's something we're going to keep working on.







▲ Photo by Sean Costello





I want to play a word association game with you. I'll give you a word or phrase and you can tell me the first thing that comes to mind.



Stage 1



We are 0 and 7.



GOATS



Fun comp. Fun and easy.



Redemption



Teamwork.





Thanks for that minigame! Looking at your Liquipedia page, there's basically no information about you. Let's fill that up a bit. What's one thing that fans don't know about Fate?



I like to talk a lot. People think I'm quiet, but I like to talk.



Also, I want to play badminton. I'm not sure who to play with but it would be cool to play with my teammates.





After this win, what should the fans expect from you and the Valiant?



The thing is we're doing really good in practice these days. We get a lot of pressure by losing 8 games in a row. I think that's why we make more mistakes at the stage every time. With this win, we can feel less pressure and we can practice better. We can play cleaner and better next time.





How can you take the momentum from this win and beat the Gladiators on Sunday?



If we perform 100% in our practices, we know we play like 30 to 40% at times on the stage. We know we can do better and win. We will be less nervous next time. From today's match, we will work on fixing our mistakes.











After your match, the Gladiators made a tweet saying to bring that fight to Sunday. What do you have to say to the Gladiators in response?



We think every time since last season, every time we never think Gladiators are better than us. Honestly, we never think they're better than us. I think we can win when we play better.





Thanks for the interview, Fate. Great job on doing this interview in English. Is there anything you would like to say to the Valiant fans?



First, thank you for cheering for us and thank you for sticking with us. It was a hard time waiting for our first win. I'm happy to say we did it. Just want to say thank you.



