FOKUS bucher: “Stay on the ground and avoid unnecessary beef”

In today’s interview, we’re going to peek into the DACH VALORANT esports scene with Maximilian “bucher” Bucher, the VALORANT pro who plays for one of Germany’s most popular esports orgs — FOKUS. 

FOKUS hasrecently  caused much attention and enthusiasm, especially after the signing of the VALORANT line-up, which got off to a meteoric start. In just six months of existence, the team managed to fight their way through VALORANT Regional Leagues 2022 for DACH and consequently won the VCT EMEA Challengers Promotion event, securing a spot at VCT 2022 EMEA Stage 2 Challengers. Here, they played against the top European VALORANT teams such as FunPlus Phoenix, Fnatic, G2 Esports and others.

But not only the early success ensured that FOKUS is so popular. Many of FOKUS’s players stream on the side and grow their own communities, and therefore a very special relationship with their fans. This also includes Maximilian “bucher” Bucher.

We spoke to bucher about the impressive start of FOKUS VALORANT, his life as an esports player/streamer, and the German VALORANT scene in general.

The hard work has paid off

Fragster: In your first year with FOKUS, you got off to a great start.  Did you expect it from the beginning or were you “surprised” by your success?
bucher: I would say that we put an enormous amount of time and hard work into the project right from the start. This included long practices and a 1-month boot camp. Of course, you can never plan or calculate whether it will all pay off, but as you can see, the hard work was worth it in the end.

What goals do you have as a team and what goals have you set yourself for the future?
My personal goals for the future are to continue to develop myself both as a player on the server and outside of it, in order to build on the experience I have gained through the VCT. As a team, of course, we just want to get the best out of it and remain successful.

What makes FOKUS’ playing style special as a team?
I would say that we play very structured as a team and rarely give any unnecessary kills to the opponents. On top of that, we play very slowly, which makes it very difficult for the opponent to defend.

Beef between teams and players

If you compare the German VALORANT scene with the international one, is the German one lacking something, or is there something that could be done better?
I would say the German scene brings up a lot of talent, but most of them lack the will and work ethic to make the leap to the next level. Furthermore, there is often beef between teams and players, which scatters the community a bit.

Is there something positive you noticed about the VALORANT DACH scene?
The development of many teams strikes me positively, for example, Ovation has now managed to keep up with the top teams in the league with a complete umbrella team that initially consisted of several inexperienced players.

Always have a goal in mind

If you could change one thing about VALORANT, what would it be?
Deleting Chamber.

What do people who don’t know you need to know about you?
That I had no FPS game experience on PC before Valorant.

You are an esports player and also stream regularly. Is there anything you would like more time for? (e.g. a hobby you don’t have time for)
I’ve played football all my life, but since I’ve been pursuing my Valorant career full-time, the time just doesn’t fit anymore and the risk of injury is too high for me if I do anything should happen to my hands or arms.

If you could give young players one piece of advice, what would it be?
It’s best to keep your feet on the ground and avoid unnecessary beef with people because connections can help you a lot. Also, work hard for your dream and always have a goal in mind.