2026 brings a whole new look for Team Liquid Valorant, and along with it, whole new aspirations. One of the new faces you’ll be seeing onstage this season is Wayne, an 18-year-old player from the Pacific region who’s new to EMEA and new to VCT.

Wayne previously played for Pacific region Challengers teams and appeared in Ascension Pacific twice. He wasn’t able to participate in Team Liquid’s first game of Kickoff, but he played in the second one, where he helped the team score a 2-1 victory over Karmine Corp. We spoke to Wayne after the win to learn more about him and his hopes for the 2026 season, as well as how well he’s settling in to the team — and the region — so far.

Welcome to Team Liquid, and congratulations on winning your first game! How are you feeling?

I'm feeling a lot of relief, because it was my first game on stage in EMEA, and there were a lot of nerves coming into the game for me, personally. A lot of expectations. Winning a game like that definitely boosts my confidence a lot, so I'm very happy.

Luckily it wasn’t your first time ever playing on a stage. Do you think that that helped you in calming the nerves?

I've played on stage before, but it's a bit different now because it's my first time in Tier 1, franchising, and I've only played in Ascension twice. Coming into EMEA Tier 1 is very different for  me. There were still a lot of nerves going into the game because it's my first time playing here, in a whole new different environment, as well. So I just need to adapt to this whole place.

You mentioned you felt like you had a lot of expectations on you. Where do you feel like those expectations come from, other people or yourself?

I think it's more of both. I'm replacing an insane player, Keiko. I don’t think much about what other people say, but for me, I always want to do good, so I feel like there will always be this expectation for myself. And it motivates me to just keep getting better and better every day.

You’re the first Pacific player to come to EMEA. What do you think is the biggest difference stylistically between the two regions?

I think the biggest difference is that the tempo here is very slow. I'm not really used to it. As the season goes on, I'll get used to it. Another difference here is the environment. I'm in a different timezone, and weather conditions. It's very cold here, and I'm not used to it. So right now I'm just slowly adapting to these changes. Now I'm freezing every day.

How do you think you're going to be adjusting your own perspective of the game?

I feel like playing more games will definitely help me, and also learning from my teammates, especially my IGL, nAts. I've learned a lot already, from him and from the coaching staff, and I think every time we practice I learn something new. It's just going to keep improving, and then slowly, I'll get used to the whole different style of playing.

Can you talk a bit more about getting to work with nAts, who has been such a mainstay of the Valerant community for so many years?

Having someone like nAts is really nice and helpful for me. I mean, he has so much experience in the game, since the beginning, and I'm a rookie. He’s taught me a lot of things already, how to control stuff outside of the game, and it was very easy to settle in. The coaching staff is good and nAts, especially, he always makes sure I'm okay and always just wants me to be at my best. So I'm definitely very thankful to have someone like him.

It's an honor, playing with him. When I was still playing in APAC, I would watch all the international tournaments, and I would always watch nAts. He's just an amazing player, and now, getting to know him, it's like I get to see this side of him that no one else really does. He's an amazing person and I'm learning a lot every day from him.

When you first started playing Valorant, was it your first major competitive FPS, or were there others before that?

Before Valorant, I was just playing random games, just for the fun of it, with my friends. I think I was playing Rainbow 6, I was playing Apex Legends… those types of games. But I wasn't really trying to be like a pro. But when Valorant came out, I was 14 or 15. Then I actually grinded the game a lot. For the first two years, I just played every day, grinded, made sure I was improving, and after that I saw the potential I had. And then from there, it just went upwards. 

You’ve been the youngest player on most of your rosters. What's it been like to play with and learn from these older, more experienced players?

For me, it really does help a lot. In every team I was in, there was a lot of guidance for me, and I think after that, I improved so much as a player and as a person. I'm now at that level where I don't really feel like the youngest anymore. I just feel so much older than I am, after all that guidance.

Before you came to EMEA, after you got signed, did you have any time to talk to the other guys and build a rapport?

We had a boot camp in the Netherlands. Before that I only had a call with the head coach [LohaN] and nAts, and our performance coach. Those three are the only people that I knew.

The other players, I’d never talked to them, nothing. It was only when I arrived to the boot camp that I slowly got to know them as people. I'm still slowly getting to know everyone, but it was easy to get along with them, for me.

Now that you've played a game in VCT, does it feel very different?

It doesn’t really have much of an impact on me, ‘cause I play the game I love to play, and playing onstage in EMEA is a good feeling for me. After winning the first match I just want to win all the games after.

Being in VCT opens up a lot more opportunities for you. Are there any other players or teams from other leagues you’d like to face?

I wouldn't say there's a specific team that I would like to face, but I want to play against the NA teams, ‘cause I always watch the Americas League. There's no specific team, just any team from that region, I would like to play against. As for players that I look up to, there's one from APAC. I look up to Meteor from T1. I think he's such a good player. 

Personally, just for yourself, do you have any goals or things you want to achieve this season?

Goals-wise, I want to qualify for Masters and Champs. I also want to just be consistent, at my best every game. But I think the biggest goal for me is to actually win an international event. I think with this team, we have a lot of potential. That’s why I'm expecting a lot of great things. I don't think Liquid has won an international before, right? So, yeah, let's change that.

Do you have anything to say to the Liquid fans, or your own fans?

I just want to thank the fans for supporting me in general, be it Liquid fans or my fans. It really helps a lot getting positive comments, after winning a game, and it really does have an effect on me, helps boost my confidence level. So, I'm just very thankful.