The desire to win the COD Mobile World Championship motivates me to push myself harder every day: Priyank "Death" Birajdar

Priyank "Death" Birajdar is one of the most talented youngsters on the Indian COD Mobile circuit. He is currently playing for Team Vitality, one of the top COD mobile teams in India.

Team Vitality entered the COD Mobile scene last March and acquired former S8UL roster including Death in the team. Within the span of a few months, Team Vitality has emerged as one of the best teams in South Asia. They recently qualified for Stage 5 of the COD Mobile World Championship. Team Vitality is one of five Indian teams who have made it to the LAN Event.

Sportskeeda Esports reached out to Death from Team Vitality, and he explained how it felt after the team's recent success and what their upcoming plans are.

Q. Death, can you tell our readers a bit about your journey from the very start to Team Vitality?

Death: My name is Priyank Birajdar and my in-game name is 'DEATH.' I grew up in Mumbai where I started gaming at a very young age. I grew up playing arcade games, console games, PC and mobile games.

When COD Mobile was released, I was very excited to play it, as it was a very fast-paced action-packed game. Last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world, I thought of turning my hobby into a profession, playing the World Championship from Reckoning Esports then joining S8UL after the India Cup, and now, being in one of the Best International Esports organizations in the World - Team Vitality. This was a very tremendous journey for me.

Q. What is your role in the Team Vitality COD Mobile lineup? Can you tell us about the team synergy and communication that sets you apart from the rest of the rosters?

Death: I am the Slayer for my team, so basically, I have to make everyone else's job easier. My job is to kill opponents all around the map, take control of areas of the map, clear the objectives, and cut down enemy’s path. Our team was formed a few months ago and we have built great synergy in such a short amount of time. The bond we have made with each other living under the same roof is something unique, which sets us apart from others.

Q. What is your favorite Load-out combination going into the game?

Death: As I am fond of mobility and power I absolutely adore FENNEC. I carry a knife in secondary to clear out distance quickly. I prefer using Frag Grenade in Lethal equipment & Smoke Grenade in tactical to blind enemy’s vision. The perks I equip are Lightweight, Quickfix, Hardline in Respawns and swapping out Hardline in exchange for Dead Silence in Search & Destroy to be stealthy.

Q. Every player needs some motivation to grind harder on a daily basis. In your case, what is the motivation behind your hard work?

Death: The enormous desire to win the World Championship and getting a little bit closer to accomplishing it at every stage drives me to work harder every day. Not only that, but being around a bunch of positive people is what keeps me going.

Q. You recently crossed 1K Subs on YouTube. It is just a small step towards a bigger achievement in the future. How did that feel and what are your plans for the future?

Death: At first, I was never fond of uploading content on YouTube but after crossing 1k subs I felt immense pleasure and motivation to do more and more of it. Interacting with my audience in the comments section is the cherry which makes my day. I think I would see myself as a more accomplished & successful person in the future.

Q. Your team is comparatively new rather than the other teams in India. However, you have still managed to perform consistently in recent tournaments. Is it a confidence booster for you guys before the upcoming tournaments?

Death: Although we are a newly formed team, all of us here individually are quite experienced. We have built a great synergy in a very short amount of time which no team I know has achieved before. Our recent success aspires us to work harder.

Q. Activision has done an excellent job when it comes to keeping the game fresh and entertaining. They have already revealed some of the upcoming updates in Season 6 including the addition of the new Shield Grenade, Martyrdom Perk and 90 FOV Slider. What is your opinion on these changes?

Death: It's been almost been more than since Activision tried to keep the game fresh by adding several new things & improvements into the game each Season. Recently they've given a sneak peek at the new shield grenade, which has a 60-Second duration and, as the name suggests, protects the user inside its dome-like shape.

By equipping the Martyrdom perk you drop a live grenade upon death, which may result in an instant kill if the opponent is not careful enough. And the 90 FOV slider will just be a game changing addition into the game as it'll allow players to have a wider field of vision.

Q. Krafton has recently launched Battlegrounds Mobile India after 9 months of the ban of PUBG Mobile. The game has already made some new records in terms of viewership and downloads. Do you think it will have a positive impact on Mobile Gaming in India in the upcoming days?

Death: PUBG Mobile's ban heavily impacted the mobile gaming industry in India. The recent BGMI Launch was really good too, but I feel that soon the craze for it will go down. As major titles like COD Warzone, Valorant & Apex Legends are all preparing to launch mobile versions of the game and it will definitely be a huge competition. Moreover, I think it's high time that the audience should realize that there are many other genres like multiplayer, MOBA, etc. too in Esports.

Q. Any words for your fans and admirers?

Death: I would like to grab this opportunity to thank all my fans and the COD Mobile India community from the bottom of my heart. You are my motivation to grind harder everyday and are a part of my journey. Your expectation and belief in me makes me believe in myself & inspires me to achieve bigger things in life.