Zachary "zekken" Patrone of Sentinels seen onstage with trophy after victory at VALORANT Masters Madrid Grand Finals at the Madrid Arena on March 24, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)MANILA -- At 19, Filipino-American Zachary "Zekken" Patrone thrusted his way into Valorant stardom after winning Valorant Masters: Madrid alongside veteran fan favorite squad Sentinels.

Zekken starred in the five-game series against Korean squad Gen.G in the grand finals as the team's mainstay duelist, as star player Tyson "TenZ" Ngo shifted to a flex role. 

His success in the VCT Americas scene gave Filipinos a glimmer of hope, as most of its local talent rode on roller-coaster performances over the last few years.

"It's really nice to be able to have a home country behind me. It's a lot of pressure, too. I want to try and play good for them, but it's really nice to have. Back at home, my mom's side of the family, [it's] huge, huge, like [there are] so many people," Zekken told media in an intimate press interview.

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Zekken was born to a Filipino mom and an Italian dad. His family on his mother's side lives in Quezon City, while he has lived in the United States all his life. The 19-year-old started his Valorant career in Exertion Gaming, before making his Valorant Challengers debut in Noble.

Despite not having been to the Philippines, Zekken tries as much as possible to stick to his Filipino roots -- eating Filipino food, and spending time with his parents. As a boy born in America, one would think he's living mostly the American dream. But like many Asian-Americans in the esports and gaming sphere, Zekken had to convince his parents he had a place in the scene.

"It was hard to convince them at first. Grades was always number one, so as long as my grades were good, I could play games. But once I started winning money from tournaments or when teams started to pay me, then it started to make a bit more sense to them why I play so much," Zekken shared.

"My mom wasn't a big fan of me playing games because she thought it was gonna impact my school, but I kept my grades good, so they let me play. And now I'm here, so I guess it worked out."  

Eventually, in 2023 he got his biggest break by signing with Sentinels. This year, as they shifted their roster, Sentinels secured the VCT 2024 Americas Kickoff title, before the VCT 2024 Masters: Madrid last March.

Winning the Valorant Masters title spawned support and Filipino-themed memes for Zekken, with Filipino talent and players rallying behind him as he reaches what could arguably be one of the highest points of his career.

"I'm very appreciative to be able to have so many fans, whether it be here or in the Philippines or wherever else in the world, it's a very nice feeling to have people behind me when I play, have people supporting. I think it goes the same for the rest of the team. We're all just very thankful that we have people behind us that are supporting us," he said.

Zekken shared that he'll try and find time to fly to the Philippines, when training and practice allows. 

Sentinels are currently out of playoff contention from VCT Americas Stage 1, but they still have a shot at Valorant Champions after securing 3 championship points during their last VCT Masters campaign.