“A lot of things contributed to the growth of Valorant in India, with the PUBG Mobile ban being one”: Ranjit “MambaSR” Patel

Esports in India has seen quite a significant growth over the past two years. In the age where battle royale games dominate, Ranjit “MambaSR” Patel is one of the few YouTubers who has seen the rise of esports and things that are widely misunderstood about it.

MambaSR is not only a YouTuber with an impressive 133K subscribers on his channel but also a renowned esports caster. In conversation with Sportskeeda Esports’ Debolina Banerjee, he talks about the growth of esports, his love for Valorant, his podcast: Leet Talks, and more.

Q. Hello, Ranjit! Over your seven-year YouTube journey, tell us about what has changed in the world of gaming on the platform.

A lot has changed, really. Funnily enough, this is not my first YouTube channel. I have one more channel which I made in 2008 or 2009. Back then, YouTube was a minimal space filled chiefly with techies or people who had access to the internet.

A lot of gamers were there, obviously, but it was wildly different compared to what it is now. It almost feels like these are two completely different platforms we are talking about.

Most old videos were made purely for fun, out of a passion for my craft. But that’s about it. It was not as commercial as it is now. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. I’m just saying it was a wild, wild place (*laughs*).

Q. Did you have to face criticism when you decided to become a YouTuber? Were your parents supportive of your decision?

This one is tricky. There was no criticism, but there definitely were reservations.

MambaSR was into gaming from a very young age (Image via Ranjit Patel)

However, I managed to explain pretty early to my parents how revenue is generated on YouTube or any streaming platform. The only concern was how sustainable it could be.

Q. Your YouTube channel is called MambaSR, which also happens to be your in-game moniker. What is the story behind the unique name?

Oh, this is funny! My first ever gaming mouse, which happened to be a gift from my dad’s friend, was the “Razer Mamba”.

So I picked “Mamba” as an alias. I went on to add SR only in 2016 when I started casting because apparently someone had their nickname set as Mamba on Facebook, and he would often be mistaken for me. So I switched it up to “MambaSR”, which stands for Mamba senior.

Q. You recently uploaded a video titled “#5 Mistakes & Misconceptions”, where you talked about the misconceptions of aspiring esports gamers. What would you like to say about the misconceptions of Indian society when it comes to gaming?

I could go on and on about this, but the biggest misconception is that gaming is not a “real” career. Another one is gaming causes anger issues, and that’s why kids become violent. It is one of those arguments which upsets me because if this were true, Japan would be one of the most violent places on the face of the planet.

Q. Being a Valorant content creator, what kind of videos, centered around the battle royale game, do you like to create the most?

I make these videos just for fun, honestly. I mean, there definitely is a commercial element to it when it comes to sponsors, but there isn’t a central theme, really. Some of them are stream highlights, funny compilations, montages, etc. It is just something that I do because I think it is kind of cool.

Q. Since Valorant esports in India is quite popular, what are the major factors that boosted its growth in the country?

A lot of reasons contributed to the growth of Valorant in India. The game was already pretty much talked about worldwide, but what really pushed its growth in the country is the timeline.

Valorant was released only a month and a half before the PUBG Mobile ban. Popular PUBG Mobile content creators opted for the FPS to keep their audiences entertained. That helped popularize the title. But I believe it would have been fairly popular regardless of the ban.

Q. Now that the Valorant update is here, what are its best features, according to you? What are your thoughts about the new agent, Chamber?

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I believe the Headhunter ability of Chamber can yield excellent results if it is in the right hands. I know I have won a lot of rounds based just on this ability.

Chamber opens up many possibilities, and I think of him as a Dualist/Sentinel hybrid. Players can use Chamber all alone to hold off a site long enough to call in rotations, but at the same time, they can make some incredible plays based on the instant TP (Rendezvous) it has.

Q. Aside from gaming, your channel also deals with important aspects of professional gaming via podcasts. Whose idea was it to develop Leet Talk videos, and what mission are you trying to achieve via the podcast?

Leet Talk was the brainchild of my friend Romeo Misao (who happens to be the Head of Marketing - South Asia/India at Galaxy Racer India and Nigma Galaxy India) and I. We talked about a lot of things that people are reluctant to talk about.

We are using our 15+ years of experience in esports to highlight things that are often missed by the untrained eye.

Q. Your YouTube channel already has over 126K subscribers. How do you plan on making your channel grow?

The only thing that will ever make one’s channel grow is quality content. That is what I am striving for.

Q. What is your message to aspiring esports professionals and gaming content creators who want to be successful?

“Never surrender your hopes and dreams to the fateful limitations others have placed on their own lives. The vision of your true destiny does not reside within the blinkered outlook of the naysayers and the doom prophets.”

Keep this in your heart and mind. Have strong ambition and ruthless determination, as there is no substitute for hard work.