EG jawgemo on final at Masters Tokyo: "I’m coming for Boaster, I’m not losing my 1v1s against Boaster. He won’t beat me on Lotus, he won’t get the 1s."

Evil Geniuses have made it to the grand final of VCT 2023 - Masters Tokyo after their victory in a nail-biting series against Paper Rex in the Lower Final. With yet another best-of-five ahead of the North American formation, we managed to get a hold of Alexander "jawgemo" Mor for a post-match interview following their yet another dub in Japan.

Evil Geniuses' jawgemo on win against PRX and grand final matchup at VALORANT Masters Tokyo

THESPIKE: Congrats on making it to the Grand Finals, you silenced all the doubters and made it, so how does it feel?

Jawgemo: It feels great. Coming back stronger, we were down like two maps I think and us coming back on Pearl and Ascent, we really showed our strides on Ascent. That’s what we expect to do tomorrow again versus Fnatic. We were playing a little bit scrappy today. We’re just building our confidence for tomorrow. It feels really good.

THESPIKE: As an opponent, how were Paper Rex?

Jawgemo: I was a little nervous, because of how explosive they are and how active they can get. Once they stop learning how to play with each other to get their kills, it’s really easy to read them and take over the game.

THESPIKE: As the lowest seeded team from NA how does it feel to defy expectations and reach the final personally?

Jawgemo: We didn’t expect to be here either. But then again having that opportunity that MIBR gave us to make playoffs and qualify for Tokyo, we definitely took the opportunity and said, “let’s make the best of it while we can.”

THESPIKE: So after having a little bit of a bumpy season, you never imagined yourself playing in the Grand Finals of Tokyo?

Jawgemo: I didn’t even think that far through. I was just wanting to see how the season would go. I’m not one to think too deep and too far ahead, I just focus on what’s in front of me. Whatever is handed to me though I make sure to make the best of it.

THESPIKE: Potter discussed you being on the bench in T1 Academy when she found you and molded you as a player. Could you discuss your evolution from then to now?

Jawgemo: When I was at T1 Academy, it was definitely a bumpy road for me and Victor “v1c” Truong. v1c was my person who I was going to and ask questions. And the Assistant Coach Stunner, he definitely helped me out as well in regards to growing up as a person and becoming who I am today. The difference is they didn’t teach me to play Jett and Raze the way I play it. Potter sculpted me into a better Raze player, a better Jett player, and now even a better Omen/smokes player. I’m playing a lot of different roles, but I take what I can from each and put it into my own gameplan and make sure the team works with it.

THESPIKE: What do you think has changed about your mentality and gameplay heading into the Grand Final against Fnatic compared to last time?

Jawgemo: Definitely was shook last time and I think the team was as well. Especially the Lotus, how they played it against us, we were a little scared and not as confident but today showed we could show up on this new stage against PRX. I think we’ll take that chemistry from today and use it against Fnatic to do very well and have a good game with them.

THESPIKE: You lost your map pick today, and it’s been a rollercoaster of a game. How was the team after losing your map pick?

Jawgemo: We weren’t playing Split the way we usually did, so it was a bumpy road. It was just one of those off days where they just had some good rounds and we didn’t execute the way we wanted to. I think it’s fine we lost our map pick because it’ll help us improve and show us why we were losing the fights that we needed to win.

THESPIKE: Before the end you took a timeout to help close out the match. What was going on inside the timeout?

Jawgemo: Max (demon1) just wanted to play A with me. I had a TP (teleport) so I could go anywhere. I was just using my utility to support the team. Ethan said “they’re back site." Right when he said that I used my TP. I had a Stinger and told him, “just play time for me.” He dies, I get the trade from the bomb planter, flashed stairs, and got another kill, then died to the KAY/O. Then C0M clutches it out. The comms were good. I was in a good spot position-wise and had an explosive blind to take care of whoever I could.

THESPIKE: With demon1, how do you play around him to set him up? Do you plan some executions or does it change how the round progresses?

Jawgemo: It definitely goes based on how he’s feeling. If he wants to go for slow picks, he gets his slow picks, but if he wants to be explosive he can do that. It’s the best of both worlds. We can do slow or fast, it just depends on how he feels, if he’s hitting shots we can even set him up on brain. He’s our star player that shoots heads and wins his 1v1s everytime.

THESPIKE: Going through the tournament, individually as a player what moment are you most proud of?

Jawgemo: Just beating DRX in general. Watching them, I was learning stuff from MaKo through his VODs, trying to play Omen like him. I could not only beat out a Duelist like Foxy9, but also a control player in MaKo as well. I was just showing that I could be explosive on any role. The 1v4 against them in particular was really hype for me though.

THESPIKE: Your rematch with Fnatic is tomorrow. Any words for them?

Jawgemo: I’m coming for Boaster, I’m not losing my 1v1’s against Boaster. He won’t beat me on Lotus, he won’t get the 1’s.

Featured image photo credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games