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The ongoing Nodwin Gaming BGMI Masters Series 2022 has taken the Indian gaming community by storm. It features the top 24 BGMI esports teams, including Team SouL.
Following their win in the recently concluded BGMI BMPS 2022, the crowd favorite side is having a decent BGMS so far. Animesh "8bit Thug" Agarwal visited the LAN event to support the team.
He is a popular BGMI streamer with over a million subscribers on his YouTube channel. He also co-owns S8UL, one of the most prominent Indian gaming organizations, spearheading its content creation department.
In an exclusive conversation before the Weekly Finals of Day 2 of the BGMS, 8bit Thug spoke to Sportskeeda regarding his team's preparations and performances in the tournament. He also shared his vision of enlarging S8UL as a brand.
BGMI streamer and S8UL owner 8bit Thug talks about Team SouL's plans in BGMS, PMWI, and upcoming ventures
Q) As the owner of S8UL, how much do the nominations in the Esports Awards matter to you?
Thug: It matters a lot. S8UL is not just any BGMI esports organization, it's a brand. We have created content, and we have put up merchandise for sale.
Getting nominated for an international awards function is massive. We are the first Indian organization to do so.
Now, everyone will follow suit. I hope Mortal manages to win this time. Goldy Bhai and I will travel as team owners if we win.
Q) Are you satisfied with Team SouL's performance in BGMS so far?
Thug: I am pretty happy with the performances so far. We had a disappointing performance on Day 1 of the Weekly Finals of the LAN event organized by Nodwin Gaming, but we are India's reigning BGMI champions, and we will play like champions further on.
Q) So, from the reigning champions, what are your plans for the upcoming PMWI?
Thug: So the plan is the same. Everyone is chasing the international trophy. I think our boys (Omega, Akshat, Goblin, and Hector) are looking confident enough.
This is because Indian teams have a lot of experience playing in international events. It has also been a year since the game was released, so I don't think it will be an issue. Let's see. The boys are confident. We are going for the win.
Q) Coming to the Esports Awards, are there any particular categories you are planning to get nominated for next year?
Thug: There is still a lot of time left for us to get nominated in the 'Esports Team of the Year' category, given that we are into fewer games and have fewer international achievements.
However, I would want any player from the current Team SouL lineup to get nominated in the 'Mobile Esports player of the Year' category next year.
I also want Scout to get nominated in the 'Streamer of the Year' category as he has done lots for gaming and has been one of the bases of streaming in India, besides Mortal. I would love to see him get nominated for that category.
Q) Aside from the Esports Awards, what other accomplishments are left for S8UL to achieve?
Thug: Honestly, I think a lot of things are left. We look forward to lifting an international trophy. Apart from that, we have many talented creators who work hard and grind daily.
I would like to see all of them get the Golden Play button from YouTube, all of which will be hung on the Wall of Fame in the S8UL gaming house.
Q. Since you talked about different games, which ones are you guys trying to venture into?
Thug: There are multiple games we want to venture into. It depends on the publisher. If we see that the publishers are working at the root level, we don't have to put much effort into the game.
Previously, we had a Free Fire lineup that was doing great, but its ban marred it. Valorant will get a massive boom in the future, and I think we will be one of the top teams in the country. So that is one of the key games we will try to capitalize on.
Q) Talking of Valorant, what are your expectations from the title in the coming years?
Thug: I think Valorant should grow really well. It all depends on the game's mechanics.
It is about to launch the mobile variant soon, and I hope it does well. It can be compared to Apex Legends Mobile, and though there are a few hiccups, the game has a feel-good factor.
Q. What are the changes in meta that you are expecting in PMWI?
Thug: Honestly, I haven't played PUBG Mobile since the game's ban in 2020. Our BGMI players said that PUBG Mobile is different as it has another variant, publisher, and server.
So there are differences. We will try to grind hard in the ten days of free time before the tournament commences, and we will try to win the trophy.
