Dressed for success: Coach Syyko explains why XSET prioritizes what they wear on the VCT stage

As he enters the stage, he puts away his sunglasses, straightens his suit, buttons it, and walks confidently down to his team. XSET coach Don “Syyko” Muir oozes confidence from the inside out, and part of that confidence can be attributed to his clothing.

When a team enters the VALORANT Champions stage, fans can usually predict the kind of walkout they will see. Some teams rehearse a bit for laughs, and other teams will try to intimidate their opponent just one more time before the match starts. Although XSET players might participate in that fun, Syyko can always be relied upon to bring an air of professionalism to the stage with his signature suit and sunglasses combo.

On the surface, it looks like Syyko wears the suit on stage because it looks nice and garners a fair bit of attention from the casters and hosts, but there’s more to it than just some good photos and a stylish presence on stage. Although the players wear their jerseys, they also match their clothing on stage from head to toe. It’s more than just clothing, it’s a physical representation of how seriously Syyko and his players take the task at hand.

Although the suit looks nice, Syyko wears it more for the air of confidence it gives him than anything else.

“When I put on the suit, I just feel so ready to go. I’m in total work mode,” Syyko told Dot Esports. “Similarly, the team responds to it, too. They see me walking in the practice room in the suit and they go ‘oh shit, it’s time to get to work,” and I love putting them in that zone.”

Not only does Syyko think about his clothing when it’s gameday, but he also thinks about the rest of the team.

“We’re gonna give it our 100 percent, including down to what we dress. I mean, even the guys with the jerseys on, we’re wearing matching Adidas and Ultra Boost [shoes] … they’re head-to-toe, uniformed up and ready to go and work mode,” Syyko said.

The suit seems to be working since XSET secured their first international victory when they beat XERXIA in their first match of VALORANT Champions 2022. Syyko wore his signature suit, which came from Suit Supply in Austin, TX. The sunglasses are some classic polarized Aviators from Ray-Ban. On his lapel is the VALORANT Champions pin that Riot gave them.

XSET Syyko’s suit emulates traditional sports

In traditional sports, coaches are often seen wearing suits at soccer games, hockey games, and a multitude of other sports. Syyko used traditional sports coaches to emulate the success of those teams in an esports setting.

“I [was] a big fan of traditional sports growing up. And I think that as esports grows, there’s some things that we can pull from traditional sports to kind of bring it more in line. And one thing I always enjoyed was coaches dressing nice,” Syyko said. “You see soccer coaches and hockey coaches standing behind their team in the full getup, so, you know, I wanted to kind of emulate that and bring that flair and pizzazz over to esports.”

It isn’t just international events that Syyko dresses up for either. He wears suits to all of the events XSET goes to, including smaller LAN tournaments like Nerd Street Gamers Winter and Summer Champs events in Philadelphia, PA.

“I walked four or five blocks in my suit and dress shoes just to show up to the NSG 50k in the drip,” Syyko said.

Syyko isn’t the first and won’t be the last coach to show up to an international VALORANT event looking nice and polished for game day, but his approach to the clothing that he wears both day-to-day when they are at boot camp and events seems different from other coaches in the business. Even on non-event days, he still wears a button-up shirt to boot camp.

In an age where working from home in sweatpants and a t-shirt is becoming more common, Syyko’s professionalism and confidence are exemplified through his outer appearance. Although VALORANT is mostly about the skill and practice that a team puts into their craft, any small advantage over other teams is going to help them achieve their goals. For XSET, it could just be the small bump they need to achieve victory in their second international VALORANT tournament.