GiantX westside wants better starts after shaky EMEA Play-Ins win

A Win, But Not a Clean One

GiantX moved one step closer to VALORANT Champions 2026 this week, but their path there looked a lot bumpier than they would have liked. After beating Eintracht Frankfurt in VCT EMEA Stage 2 Play-Ins, GiantX’s westside spoke to THESPIKE.GG and gave a candid read on where the team stands. The short version: the individual talent is there, the habits still need work.

The series was a three-map affair. GiantX rolled through Lotus in convincing fashion, and for a moment it looked like a routine afternoon. Then Frankfurt answered. GiantX found themselves trailing badly on both the second and third maps, including a stretch where they were down 0-6 before clawing their way back to close out the series. The win was real. So was the concern underneath it.

“To be honest, after the first map, we thought the series was going to be a bit easier,” westside told THESPIKE.GG. “But we were surprised by how challenging the next two maps were. We started both the second and third maps at a significant round disadvantage, so we always had to fight our way back into the game.”

A Pattern They Recognize

Westside was quick to connect this performance to something that dogged GiantX throughout 2025. The comeback wins are exciting on paper, but they are also a symptom of a problem the team has been aware of for a while now.

“Like last year, we were sometimes down 0-5 and had to fight our way back into the game, or we’d lose the first map and then have to win the next two,” he said. “I think we need to start strong from the very first round, set the pace early, and not let the game snowball in our opponents’ favor.”

It is a straightforward diagnosis, and the fact that westside is saying it out loud suggests GiantX are not pretending the issue does not exist. That kind of self-awareness can matter. Against a Challenger side like Frankfurt, surviving slow starts is painful but manageable. Against the best teams in EMEA, the margin for that kind of deficit becomes much thinner.

Play-Ins run from August 5 to 17 in a 12-team double-elimination bracket mixing eight Group Stage teams with four sides from EMEA Regional Challengers. Frankfurt earned their spot through the EMEA Last Chance Qualifier. GiantX will face FUT next on Saturday.

Phoenix, Cypher, and Sharing the Load

Beyond the results, one of the more interesting details to come out of the interview was how GiantX are managing agent assignments between westside and Flickless, specifically around Phoenix, who has had a real presence in the current VALORANT meta.

Westside explained that the split comes down to map fit and playstyle. On Cypher, he can anchor a site and extract maximum value from setup play. Phoenix gives him something different.

“With Phoenix, I play more independently, using the flashes and creating opportunities for the team,” he said. “I feel like I can play more around myself on Phoenix compared to Cypher.”

For Flickless, Cypher suits maps where cross-map rotation and information gathering are more valuable. The division of labor makes sense on paper, and westside added that stepping away from a full season of Cypher, which was his role throughout Champions 2025, felt like a welcome shift. Phoenix allows him to take the aggressive duels that the sentinel role tends to suppress.

That kind of flexibility is genuinely useful going deeper into the tournament. Predictability is a liability at this level, and a roster that can shift agent responsibilities based on matchup rather than habit gives opponents one fewer reliable read.

The question now is whether GiantX can bring the energy of their late-round comebacks to the opening minutes of a map, before they need it.