Teamwork, Communication, and THAT Valkyrie Skyward Dive: what Verhulst had to say following TSM’s win at LAN
Taking a closer look at TSM’s tactics and route to success at the London ALGS Split 1 Playoffs
TSM finally reclaimed their status as the top Apex Legends team in the world, winning the ALGS Split 1 Playoffs in style. Their final game — the 8th in the final — saw them take a last-minute Valkyrie Ultimate, skyward diving to rocky cover on the other side of the zone. Utilising both their surroundings and sheer determination, the team took the game down to the wire.
Cheered on by a crowd wrapped up in pure adrenaline, TSM took the victory.
After such an incredible show of teamwork and trust, I caught up with Verhulst to talk about TSM’s route to success:
Firstly, how did it feel to hear the crowd that you just had — specifically during that final showdown in Game 8?
Oh my god — it was just an emotional overload. I was trying to maintain composure at that point, because I knew we had the edge in that fight.
I heard the crowd, but I told myself, ‘I can’t give in to that crowd yet’. I had to keep playing.
That Valkyrie Ult that you guys took to get into that last position — that was definitely an incredible call.
A genius call.
Absolutely — how quickly was that decision made? Who made it?
That was Hal — we didn’t really talk about it beforehand.
It was spur of the moment. Hal just spotted it and said, ‘we’re valk ulting’ — and I just went, ‘ok’! We just went, and that was it. We didn’t talk about it, we just saw the opportunity.
We trust our IGL. It was one of the best plays we could have made.
When it comes down to being able to immediately trust Hal’s decision at that moment — how long has it taken for you guys to get to the point where someone makes a call, and you know you will follow it?
Ever since (TSM Coach) Raven, really. Raven has really helped us so much to trust each other. Since he has been coaching and leading us, that level of trust has just been so much higher. We all understand the game on the same level now.
He has helped us to understand our roles better, so we all know what each person is thinking about — it helps us play better.
I’m sure that helps so much with communication as well — knowing exactly what your teammates are doing.
Yeah, it’s kind of automatic now. Everyone knows their place in the team.
Aside from the decision to move across the zone with the Valkyrie Ult, what do you think it was that set TSM apart and gave you the win?
Once we landed, we all just knew that the goal was to kill everyone in front of us.
Our goal was to shoot.
I don’t think we did anything special, we just played together and took them out. We were right there with four teams, and it was a chain reaction.
How did you guys bounce back from some of the challenges in the earlier games during the finals? As with every team, there were certainly difficult moments. For example, back in Game 2, when you were fighting Luminosity Gaming and had the ‘el Presidente’ v ‘CEO’ 1v1 — how do you push through and keep your mentality, focus, and drive?
That is something else that Raven has helped us with a lot. We also understand that it is impossible to have perfect games, every game. It’s a Battle Royale — even if you play your absolute best, something bad can happen.
We all made individual mistakes throughout the entire tournament. We all talked beforehand and clarified that if anyone throws a game or makes a mistake, there is nothing in that moment that we can do to change our play style. You have to move through it.
Getting mad over little mistakes at the biggest tournament is not worth it. Push those mistakes away and just focus on the next game.
Stay in the present, and look ahead to the next game.
Well, you have achieved that first big win of the year, but there is a long road ahead! Do you have plans set to stay on track?
I don’t think we are going to change. We will keep our practice routine and keep working hard.
Two more tournaments to win! One out of three done!
For more insight into TSM’s ALGS Split 1 Playoffs performance, read my interview with TSM Coach, ‘Raven’, here.
I also interviewed TSM before the tournament began, while they were boot camping at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere. Check out my conversations with them here, including insights into practice, collaboration, and achieving the winning mentality!
