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With the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series 2021 set to start in a couple of weeks, the nation’s mobile esports community is excited to see what Krafton has in store for them.
Many organizations have already started building a roster around Battlegrounds Mobile India. Every competitive player in the scene will be looking to take home the trophy from BGMI’s first official event.
Marcos Gaming’s Ashwin “MantyOP” Vijay is one of the many who would like to run away with it all. However, he feels that the competition will be more challenging than ever with the rise of new talent in the scene.
In an interview with Abhishek Mallick of Sportskeeda Esports, the prodigal talent opened up about not just his early career but his hopes and aspirations from Battlegrounds Mobile India in the coming months.
Here is an excerpt of the conversation.
Q. Ashwin, a lot of our readers don’t know about your background and origin story. So can you shed some light on who you are and how your career as a professional mobile esports athlete started?
Ashwin: Though I always loved to play many mobile and PC games, I was initially an athlete in physical sports. However, I met with an accident one day, which left me with several major injuries, which got me bedridden, and that was when I started investing several hours into PUBG Mobile.
After a point, I even started entering random YouTube custom rooms and eventually landed myself in Team Raven. The squad and I soon began to participate in official scrims, and after we got to know about the PMCO, we immediately signed up for it.
Unfortunately, we could not qualify for the main, but this failure only pushed me to practice harder, and afterward, we created Team Tamilas. With the new roster, we were able to get through to the group stages of the event.
We placed 4th in the PMCO Finals and even went a long way in the PMPL that followed. However, I left the Team Tamilas roster and joined Macros Gaming, where I still am.
Q. What was the PUBG Mobile ban like for you? How did you have to adapt to remain relevant in the scene when so many of the players and content creators were jumping ship to other titles?
Ashwin: When PUBG Mobile got banned in India, I was worried about my career. But what brought me solace was that Krafton was coming with its own exclusive game for India.
So in the meantime, I started playing some PC games and creating content on it, and the org has been immensely helpful during this time.
Q. What’s the atmosphere like back at home? How supportive are the parents of your career choice as a video games content creator and esports athlete?
Ashwin: My parents always supported me from my very childhood, and my mother’s help and words became the very backbone of who I am today. She would always tell me that if I had interest and self-belief, I should always go for it.
Q. With Battlegrounds Mobile India finally out, was it able to meet the expectations that you had of the game? Do you think Battlegrounds Mobile India was able to live up to the hype that the beta created?
Ashwin: Finally! After a year, Battlegrounds Mobile India was launched, and I saw it creating the same hype that PUBG Mobile had created. All of us from the former scene were anticipating the arrival of the game with great excitement.
Q. You have often mentioned the fact that ScoutOP inspired you throughout the stages of your career. Can you tell us about the impact he had on you and the way he inspired you?
Ashwin: What I loved most about ScoutOP and his streams was the amount of energy and dedication he put into the game. The videos that Scout made had a significant impact on me, and that’s how I was inspired by him.
Q. You have been a part of Marcos Gaming’s Battlegrounds Mobile India esports team for some time. What is the role that you play in the roster?
Ashwin: I usually play the role of the entry fragger and assaulter in my Battlegrounds Mobile India team.
Q. How is the team synergy and communication coming along ahead of the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series 2021?
Ashwin: Unfortunately, I have not been able to put in as many games with my team as I would have liked. But I hope we will keep growing as a team and take the competition by storm in the future.
Q. With the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series 2021, what kind of tone do you think Krafton will be looking to set for future tournaments in the game?
Ashwin: By setting this tournament up, I hope Krafton will bring us such big events like PMWL and Star Challenger in the future. International events are also something that I look forward to.
Q. What are your thoughts on some of the upcoming talents in Battlegrounds Mobile India who want to make it big in the game’s esports scene?
Ashwin: I see many young and promising talents growing rapidly in the Battlegrounds Mobile India scene. So the competition will be challenging this year, especially for newly formed teams.
We at Marcos Gaming will be trying our best to improve every day and one day be the very best Battlegrounds Mobile India roster in the nation.
Q. What is in store for MantyOP in the coming months? What can fans expect from you as both a content creator and esports athlete?
Ashwin: For now, I need to concentrate on playing more Battlegrounds Mobile India practice matches to improve my skills further. The day I feel that I am good enough to defeat anyone will be the time I start to invest in content creation seriously.
