After a nail-biting back-and-forth between the two teams in the Valorant Qualifier Finals, Team Todak claimed victory and will be representing Malaysia in the Asia Pacific Predator League 2024 tournament.

While at the APAC Predator League 2024 Valorant Malaysia Qualifier Finals, we got an opportunity to speak with Team Todak after their victory.

This interview was edited for clarity.

Team Todak is a Valorant team that comprised of the following members:

• Shamir “subbey” Aliff Bin Saifu Zaman
• Fakhrul”jeed” Najeed Bin Idris
• Tarmizi “kael” Bin Rusli
• Muhammad “FrostyZ” Adam Bin Muhamad Nazri
• Muhammad “fragile” Aeiman Salleh Bin Hanapi

How does it feel to have won the Malaysia Qualifier for Asia Pacific Predator League 2024?

subbey: We definitely feel very happy and are very thankful that we managed to win this tournament and booked our slot in Manila, Phillippines.

You know that after spending so many hours practicing in these two weeks, it was a very packed schedule and it finally paid off. We are grateful for that, thank you so much. 

How do you feel when during the final match, your opponent catches back the score from 4-12 to 12-12?

subbey: Team Path caught up the points very quickly, from 5-12 to then become 12-12, then 13-12 to 13-13, 14-13. 

This was a disaster, I thought on our end. We felt like we started playing not to lose but to win. That’s the different types of mentality, my teammates felt like they could not lose in these certain rounds, even though it would be fine if we lost as there were a lot more rounds that we could work on.

Thankfully, we managed to break the mental block and finally got through it and won.

Are there any particular regions that you’re excited to face in Manila next year?

subbey: We definitely want to face Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore… We are very excited to face every team.

Do you think Deadlock will ever be picked for professional tournaments?

subbey: I do think that Deadlock will be very suitable for professional tournaments. When Deadlock becomes meta, I think she will be a good replacement for Cypher at Split.

For example, I think Deadlock can lurk at Split A Main and deploy her wall (Barrier Mesh) as a very good Anchor. That’s what I thought, but I think Riot needs to buff her a little bit more.

(In Valorant, an Anchor is the last player to rotate to another site in case the enemy team executes a fake push.)

Since there is a beta for the mobile version of Valorant going on in China. What are your thoughts on seeing Valorant being played on mobile phones?

subbey: In brackets, I do think it is going to be huge, especially in the mobile scene. If it is going to be something big, then all of us might as well try it.

Everyone says crosshair placement is the only thing you need to get good at in competitive FPS, what is your take on this statement?

subbey: There are a lot of things that you need to actually be good at, like game sense, the hours that you put into the game, and communications. Crosshair placement is one of the main factors for results, but that are going to be a lot more factors as well. It is not only crosshair placement.

Do you have any words you want to say to your fans as Malaysia’s representatives for Asia Pacific Predator League 2024?

fragile: We are ready to give you guys a challenge! Todak is ready to “langgar”! We are ready!

subbey: We are ready for any challenge! We hope this is not going to be the same result as the SEA Games. Hopefully, we will do well this time.

We would like to congratulate Team Todak for winning the Valorant Malaysia Qualifier and representing Malaysia in the APAC Predator League 2023, as well as thank subbey, jeed, kael, FrostyZ, and fragile for taking the time to answer our questions.

The Asia-Pacific Predator League 2024 will take place in Manila, Phillippines from 13 January 2024, and for more information, you can visit the official website.