1. Welcome, let’s Introduce yourself briefly.

My name is Tihon/Tykhon Benderskyi, I am originally from Odessa Ukraine, but have lived in the US since 2016.

2. How did you get to know VALORANT?

The game was announced to be released on June 2nd, but Riot hosted a beta before, so I decided to give it a shot. I was very interested in seeing new FPS, after competing in Fortnite for a little while and cs 1.6 prior. Hiko was the main reason I really enjoyed watching the game and developed a long-term interest.

3. According to your career, your main experience is collegiate completions in VALORANT. How and why did you choose this path?

I was blessed to get an offer to attend and play for Converse, which was not super far away from me and my family: Valorant was growing at that time at a very quick pace, so the expectations for myself were high. The thoughts of missing out, missing opportunities etc, because of collegiate were there. But I always trusted the process and stayed focused on my path, knowing that sooner or later my goals would be achieved.

4. You played for Converse Varsity for 1,5 years. How did you start playing for this team? Did you go to this college?

Yes, I did go to Converse College and was a part of the team from the very start, as the team captain.

5. I guess you had opportunities to play for unsigned teams in tier-2, but you stayed in Collegiate VALORANT. What is the rationale for this?

At the time, I was definitely not the player I portrayed myself to be, but I was able to land myself on the scouting board at least and maintain good networks and contacts within the scene. However, even if I was able to get a tier2/tier1 offer at that time, I unfortunately wouldn’t have been able to accept it, due to me being an International Student and being on a Student Visa. I attempted to join teams, such as Winthrop/Maryville/Fisher at the time knowing the potential of players/opportunities they withheld, but wasn’t fortunate enough to do so, until the summer of this year.

6. Last week, a discussion happened in the NA community about the Collegiate system. The QOR player, tdawgg, made a video about it where he shared his thoughts. His main idea is that collegiate players are limited, and they can’t compete equally with even unsigned teams. You’re like from the other “side of the street”, what’s your opinion about it?

Tdawgg is one of my good friends, and I agree with some of the points that were made in the video. However, as someone who has competed in collegiate Valorant since the start and witnessed quite a lot of situationships, targeting the question, I agree that some collegiate players are limited. I would also go half-and-half on player compatibility. Some players treat practice/competition better than others and can compete with unsigned teams, but both do not just occur in collegiate, therefore the answer cannot be one-sided. Nonetheless, it is a very rich topic to cover. I think there is just a slight misunderstanding on the approach to the topic, if we were to look at the recent argument Anderzz made.

7. Recently you joined Maryville University team. How did you get an offer?

I saw that Maryville was hosting open tryouts, so I reached out to mCe with this message:

“Hey Matthew, I have applied for the tryouts at MU, but have a very important question. I am currently at Converse University and am an international student. I'm given a timeline that I can only explore other options at another university's maximum until May 30th, but I know the trials are happening at the end of June and in fact I don't even know if I made the list or not. I do feel confident in myself as a player and believe I can bring a large asset to the roster and the program, as far as a player/student/person, I believe I'm a caliber of a player that has a strong work ethic, great attitude, coachable, innovative, problem-solver, critical thinker as well as just a great teammate. And was wondering if there is a way to explore the opportunity a little bit ahead of time and even if I am not someone you/program might be looking for at least, I would like to know, as it is an opportunity that I'm trying to not pass on and get the best outcome of.”

Knowing myself as an individual and a player, I was confident in my ability to outperform my competition, so I did.

8. Right after a discussion about College teams, Maryville managed to win the US EAST Invite Division in Premier and secure a slot for NA Challengers. How did you manage to prepare in such a short time and show such a result?

We started practice a couple of weeks ago with SwayZ, while I was out for a week competing at ROK Esports Miami Lan, so the team was playing with Geeza in my spot. Unfortunately, during my time in Miami, SwayZ decided to step down from the team, but we were confident in everyone’s abilities to flex roles, with the limited time to practice before the event, we had talked over a couple of maps and fortunate enough, the format definitely benefited us and our limited map pool.

9. You have a couple of well-known players alongside the team, Ange played for MAD Lions last year in VCL, geeza, and renz were in Cloud9 Academy. How do you describe playing in one team with these experienced guys?

I’ve known and been good pals with all 3 of those guys, before joining the team, so we already had a hidden chemistry building up. But it has definitely been a pleasing time knowing that my teammates are passionate about the game and are committed to becoming the best of the best. Shoutout to Chloric, my wildcard. (Amazing teammate).

10. Your coach is mCe, who worked with Gen.G, The Guard, and Cloud9. What's the significance of working with him to you as a player?

I respect mCe a lot, and it is a dream come true to be working with him, as well as to learn from him. But most importantly he is a genuine and fantastic guy outside the game, so being able to be coached by someone who is both and known to be one of the best coaches in the world, is a surreal feeling.

11. NA Challengers will start next month. Have you already settled goals as a team for the upcoming Split?

Our goal is to improve both individually and as a team. We push our limits every day, learning from every experience, and adapt quickly. We are aware that the road ahead might be challenging, but we’re prepared to put in the work, stay humble, and let our performance speak for itself.

12. Do you think your story of qualifying for Challengers as a collegiate team, as well as Blinn Esports, will change the direction of Collegiate Valorant esports in North America? At least, the attitude of the people who will play for these teams in the future?

I think our story has just begun, but it will change the direction of Collegiate Valorant, once we will win the VCL.

13. What goals have you set for yourself as a player?

I’ve worked very hard and I will continue to work much harder in and out of the server. I’ve finally been placed in a better place, so get ready to see a prodigy form.

14. If one day you sign a contract with an esports club, what would be the first thing you would do?

Share my testimony and a speech to those who are chasing their dream of being a professional Esports player.