KC GC Glance: There Should Be More Mixed-Gender Valorant Tournaments

Anastasia "Glance" Anisimova has been one of the most experienced players in Valorant Game Changers scene. After leaving G2 Gozen, she joined Karmine Corp and the team recently won Game Changers 2024 EMEA: Contenders Series 1. They will be participating next in Red Bull Instalock, the UK's first pro women's Valorant event, which will take place on April 20 and 21. 

Ahead of the tournament, I had the opportunity to sit down with Glance to discuss KC GC's current performance, their future plans, the state of the GC scene, and her potentially playing as a duelist in Red Bull Instalock. You can read the full interview below.

Karmine Corp Glance Interview

Hey Glance, how are you doing? I hope you are enjoying your time in the new org, Karmine Corp!

Glance: Yeah, I am enjoying it a lot. I mean, I knew it was going to be a great org. It's  a big opportunity and, of course, a big responsibility because KC is very, very big and there are a lot of fans. And yeah, I mean, we have a tight schedule, but it's fun.

How has everything been working out for you there? I mean, you were with G2 Gozen for a long time. Did you face any sort of challenges while playing with the new KC GC roster, whether it is in terms of strategies, gameplay style, or anything else? 

Glance: Yeah. I mean, it's always a bit hard to join a new team because there are new players, a new coaching staff, a new org—you don't know anything. Of course, people know me, but it's still hard because you're new. For me, the biggest challenge was adapting to how we could play as a team and what style we should follow, for example, whether we should play slow or pick double duelists and play aggressively.

There were a lot of questions and I think that might be the reason why we lost the first split pretty badly. We lost a lot of matches and didn't qualify for the playoffs. First of all, it was due to a lack of experience together and then we were kind of playing scared, I would say. I'm not sure if it was just because we were new, but I just think we just needed some experience back then.

We just needed to play some more matches, so it's good that we played in Contenders. We gained this experience and now we can play in the main event with a stronger mentality overall.

As you mentioned, Split 1 didn't go well for you guys, but you won Contenders and the team overall was looking great. What kind of gaps did you guys fill that allowed you to come back stronger in Contenders and how is everything working out for the team?

Glance: Yeah, first of all, we put a lot more time into our practice because we noticed that even though we were already practicing about six hours a day, it clearly wasn't enough. So we started to practice for like 12-13 hours every day and overall, I think we managed to make our practice more effective.

We're giving feedback instantly, talking together, and we also have a performance coach who talks to us about our mood and how we feel in the team so that we can play together to our full potential.

So yeah, we've made a lot of changes and it's been quite good for us. I mean, we still need to see how it plays out in the main event. We still have to work so much because, in my opinion, we're still not in the best form we could be. It's just like time will show, I think.

I remember one of your videos from when you were in G2 Gozen, in which we saw how the team spends time together, like practicing, playing a variety of games and doing different exercises to build up synergy. What kind of activities do you guys do in KC to strengthen the bond?

Glance: Yeah, we played some games outside Valorant. We played, like, PICO PARK and Meme Maker. Oh my god, it was quite fun because once our practice got canceled and we didn't have anything to do, so we decided to play Meme Maker.

In this game, you can remember all the stuff that happened in the team, and you can make fun of it or just talk about it. It's really nice that in this team, people take feedback quite well. That's one of the main ways we build synergy together.

We talk and people have different ideas, which is fine because we're like seven different people on the team and it's normal not to be on the same page all the time. But our goal is to be on the same page. That was our biggest issue, to be honest. 

Like, at one point, we had so many ideas and couldn't listen to each other. One person would say, 'I want to do this,' and the other would say, 'I want to do that,' and we all ended up doing something different, but not together. 

So we discussed it during practice like 'Guys, we're not on the same page. We need to do something about it.' 

So, our biggest goal is to listen to each other better and be quieter to listen to someone else instead of just yourself. If you think something you're talking about is good, of course, but it doesn't mean that what someone else is saying is bad. It can also work out. So yeah, our main goal is to build even more synergy, if possible.

I want to talk about the GC scene as a whole. You've been one of the longest-standing players in the scene. Looking back to when it all started, what are the main changes you've seen overall, whether positive or negative?

Glance: Yeah, I definitely see that more players are coming into the scene. When I just started, I knew all the players. I knew that this girl came from CS and this girl from Overwatch and I knew every single girl in the scene.

But now, so many people are joining, which is actually great because in the past, I felt that for a girl, it was really hard to even start playing, let alone opening the mic and talking to people when everyone's asking like asking, 'Oh my god, are you a girl?'

However, right now, honestly, I think in maybe every second or third game in matchmaking, I have a girl on my team or against me, which already shows that there are so many girls playing and that's thanks to Game Changers for that. I swear, I don't think it would be possible, for example, in CS. It started with Game Changers, it started with Valorant and thanks to Riot, they made those tournaments happen. 

I just wish there were more tournaments because we still have three stages and then we have a global Game Changers event, which is a LAN. But I would love to play on LAN during Splits as well to gain this experience. Because I believe for girls who are going to their first LAN, it's a completely different experience and that's where they start losing their confidence. They cannot play the same way as it's really nerve-wracking. I can understand because when I went to my first LAN, I was like, 'Whoa, there are cameras everywhere'—there's a camera in front of you, behind you, and there's a guy running around asking you questions, and you're like, "What the hell is going on?"

So, of course, it's hard and that's why I think it would be nice to have more LANs. But in general, it's really nice that we have these tournaments and this opportunity because, once again, not every game or company is doing something for females. 

They're like, 'If you want to play, just play against males, we don't care.' But here, it's a different story and there's an open room that you can join. Of course, my girls can also play in male events, but we still need to gain some experience and play against each other first so we can be ready to play against male teams as well.

Talking about being a girl in esports, do you still get surprising reactions from people? How aware do you think they are now?

Glance: Yeah, I think people are definitely more aware. I mean, explaining to my parents what I'm doing is still a bit hard because when you're getting a salary to just play a video game, for them, it's like, 'What exactly are you doing?' It's not like staying in an office and doing a nine-hour job. But when they actually explain it to people and because I've been in esports for about three years, they start to understand where the money comes from.

Also, when you show them big events like CS Majors or Valorant Champions, they're like, 'Oh my god, there are so many people. It's like an actual sport, but just esports.' We may not be training our bodies to play football or something, but we're still doing a lot of brain work, which is still hard, in my opinion.

So yeah, it's no longer something impossible because, in Russia, I swear to God, there are a few girls doing the same thing as me. When I joined G2, I think I was the first Russian girl to join an international organization. So everyone was like, 'What? How did you get there?'

And, of course, there's a language barrier as well. My English wasn't perfect at all, but it's something I had to work on. So, there are so many things you need to do to achieve this, but it is possible and I think more people are aware of that. 

So, I really hope that it's gonna bring even more people into esports because there's actually so much you can do besides just playing video games. You can be a caster, a caster, a streamer, an interviewer. There are so many possibilities and you just need to grind.

There's a lot of up-and-coming talent in GC, as you mentioned. Obviously, they have been getting a lot of exposure in GC. However, we haven't seen many tier-two tournaments. So, what do you think could be done better to give them additional exposure so that even more women and marginalized genders can showcase their talent? For example, when I was watching GC and talking to some of my friends and they were like, "Is GC going on?" They didn't even know about it. So, what do you think could be done better here?

Glance: It's a good question. I think there should be more mixed-gender tournaments because I remember once, at a Red Bull event, we played against male teams. We only took like a couple of rounds maybe, but that's where people got to know us and realize that, 'Whoa, there is a whole female team, and they have their own league.' Also, for example, during Masters Madrid, Mimi participated in the Showmatch this time, and that's where people are getting to know them more.

So, I would love to play in a mixed team. Honestly, I know it might be super hard for a girl to catch up with those men because there are way more male players and our gap is still big. We need to admit it and we just need to work on it. And what can make this gap lower is to play with them or play against them. That's also what can bring more female players, actually, or people in general into esports when they see that every gender is welcomed.

It's still a long road, but I think we're getting closer to it. That's, it's a good sign.

You'll be going up against G2 Gozen for the first time since joining KC. Can we expect some banter on the stage and have you been forward for it?

Glance: All the players in G2 are my friends and we're super close. I would love to beat them because I just want to give some competition because I know G2 has a perfect roster. I want someone who can beat them, so that's why one of my goals is to be close to them and be able to beat them.

Also, I really, really want to go to Champs again and I don't know if it's possible this year because of the point system. I don't think we can make it since we lost Split 1, but if we win the third one, we'll secure a spot. So there's a lot of work to be done, but I'd love to play against my good friends and I think it will be really fun.

Last question, I want to talk about the theme of Red Bull Instalock, where every team has to pick three dualists. I know you've been playing controller and initiator, but will we be able to see duelist Glance in this event?

Glance: It's a good question. There is a possibility, but we also have some players on our team who used to play dualists in the past. So maybe we'll do instalock and whoever picks it faster gets to play it. I'd love to play Reyna. I've never played Jett and I haven't played Raze that much either. Maybe Iso, who knows?

I've never been a duelist player. I never even thought about it because literally every girl there wants to play duelist because they're good at it. So, I was like, 'Okay, just go ahead.' But if this is my chance, I would definitely take it.