Let’s be honest, you’d probably react the same way if you were in his position.
During the regular season of VCT Pacific Stage 1, Online Esports released a voice comms video that left the audience puzzled.
Coach Alexandre “alecks” Sallé said three words that left the Valorant community, including Pujan “FNS” Mehta, who watched and responded to the video on his livestream, perplexed.
“Stay cool. Don’t overextend. You’re performing well,” the Online Esports coach advised the team during a break on Lotus.
“Don’t overextend!” FNS burst into laughter. “Do you know who you’re talking to? What is this guy saying, don’t overextend? That’s absolutely hilarious!”
ONE Esports had an exclusive interview with alecks to understand this oddity and learn more about his thought process when he’s in the coaching booth getting frustrated.
Online Esports’ alecks on why he bangs desks, gets angry, and gets frustrated
We discovered a few reasons why that clip is part of the highlight reel.
“Yes, it’s a bit odd,” alecks responded to ONE Esports. “In these voice comms, we usually omit the technical instructions, so I don’t actually tell them to go all out every time, you know. It’s only in certain situations.”
As a result, these compilations are often the result of the video editor’s decision to create engaging, humorous content for fans while avoiding revealing strategic insights, especially if it exposes their thought processes in Valorant.
That being said, one idea that’s been on aleck’s mind is the possibility of enhancing in-person watch party experiences in Singapore and Indonesia by showing fans exclusive behind-the-scenes snippets during Online Esports games.
This concept is similar to sports broadcasts where viewers occasionally get to overhear coaches giving instructions to the team during a break.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to guard everything. I also don’t mind if people learn. It gives me a chance to grow if everyone’s improving,” alecks elaborated. “If everyone’s improving, it forces me to get better, forces my team to get better. So it’s a two-way thing.”
Due to this limited perspective, the impression viewers get of alecks is that he’s just a roller coaster of emotions that keeps intensifying round after round, map after map.
Describing himself as a person who isn’t “very rigid”, he expresses emotions without “trying to play it down” or play it up either. “You know, I’m alone in the coach room, right? I don’t have an assistant coach. It’s me and myself in there. I’m just stuck here like a meme. I don’t mind. I’ve never gotten hate for it.”
“If people are happy, sure. I’m glad I can entertain. It’s not my number one priority. All I care about is the team doing well. Sometimes they just leave me exasperated. I don’t know what the hell is going on.” said alecks, who can’t seem to wrap his head around certain calls Online Esports players make in-game.
“We have certain rules. Then they just out throw them out the window and I lose my mind. What are we practicing for?” alecks related. “Sometimes I take a pause and I talk for a minute. The moment the pause ends, they do the opposite thing. Of course, anyone’s going to be crazy, right?”
This happens often because of Online Esports’s culture — a team that not only functions, but thrives without a designated in-game leader. While alecks is officially their esports coach, he shared with ONE Esports in a previous interview that he sees himself more as a “life coach who also happens to be a Valorant coach.”
Online Esports is community-led, so even though he may give them advice, it doesn’t mean it’s the final word. The team is constantly in discussion and adapting on the fly.
“It’s just that it can be funny that we can come to a common conclusion during the tech pause and then suddenly someone has a bright idea and then they throw the common conclusion out the window and we go with this instead,” alecks shared.
“And I don’t have a say anymore because the thing is, the time’s run out. So my job is done and I just have to watch the game.”
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