The gap is closing: Velocity Gaming now have competitors for the Indian Valorant throne

The Gap is closing and Velocity gaming may not remain the top dogs for long (Image credits: Top Velocity Gaming, Bottom Right Noble Esports, Bottom Left Global Esports)
The Gap is closing and Velocity gaming may not remain the top dogs for long (Image credits: Top Velocity Gaming, Bottom Right Noble Esports, Bottom Left Global Esports)

The Esports Club Valorant Challenger Series 2 wasn’t exactly a walk in the park for Velocity Gaming.

India’s best Valorant roster had to fight tooth and nail to win the finals against Global Esports, who just look better and better with each passing tournament.

However, Global Esports were not the only ones who gave Velocity Gaming a run for their money. Recently-formed Noble Esports also showed incredible promise and really made the kings sweat during the semi-finals of the TEC Challenger Series 2.

And it wasn’t that Velocity Gaming were playing poorly during the tournament or that they were having a bad day with their comms. The gang of homebred talents, led by Anuj “Amaterasu” Sharma, did indeed bring their A-game to every single map they played.

Although there were a few lapses in decision-making here and there, that is to be expected during such high-pressure situations with so much on the line.

Valorant India may have new kings soon

So far, Indian Valorant tournaments, from the TEC AMD Valorant Cup to the very recent Skyesports Championship 2.0, have all been very one-sided affairs.

Velocity Gaming stomped their way to a finals win every single time. They were able to beat their opponents not only through individual skills and macro but also through teamwork and coordination.

They set themselves up to be a class apart from the rest of Valorant rosters and with Amaterasu leading the charge and Tejas “Rite2Ace” Sawant and Sabyasachi “Antidote” Bose fragging away to their heart's content, the team looked impossible to beat.

However, that was until the TEC Valorant Challenger Series 2 Upper Bracket finals, where Velocity Gaming conceded the first defeat of their career at the hands of Global Esports.

GE’s Sunny “DEATHMAKER” Das was the difference-maker between the two sides, and he single-handedly dismantled Velocity Gaming on both the maps of Split and Ascent.

Similarly, he displayed a masterclass of a performance during the finals of the championship series and along with Bhavin ‘HellRangeR’ Kotwani and Jayanth ‘skillZ’ Ramesh, he was able to force Velocity Gaming into a deciding 5th map.

Even though Noble Esports were dominated by Velocity Gaming during the finals of the Skyesports Valorant Championship 2.0, they came back much stronger this time around.

Simar ‘psy’ Sethi, Shakir ‘hikkA’ Razak, Harsh ‘Harsh’ Arora, Tejas ‘Rex’ Kotian, and Rahul ‘t1to’ Sridhar are showing up big time, and Indian Valorant fans will be excited to see just how much this team grows in the coming months.

Exciting times are on the horizon for Indian Valorant

The fact that the gap is closing and more teams are rising up to challenge Velocity Gaming’s dominance is, indeed, good news for the region.

Having just one team that wins everything will put a damper on the whole competitive aspect of the shooter’s esports scene. If things continue to be interesting just like the exciting and nail-biting matches we witnessed yesterday, Valorant is sure to have a popularity boom in India.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda’s Abhishek Mallick, Ishaan Arya, co-founder of The Esports Club, talked a lot about the future of Valorant in India and how he sees it shaping up.

When asked if knowing who is going to win even before the competition starts will put off fans from viewing matches and whether this could be a worrying trend that will adversely affect viewership numbers and the future of Valorant in India, Arya said:

“In any sport or esport, there is always a favorite, especially in an under-developed region like India where too many teams do not have the time or resources at their disposal to put together or improve a squad.”
“We realised this long ago and adopted different tournament formats and prize pool distribution systems to ensure we are always rewarding as many teams as possible. There is merit in finishing in the top 16 or top 8 and coming back with more hunger the next time around. While there is certainly a lot for the favorites and to-be champions to play for, we have structures in place to reward more teams and players to encourage them in their esports journeys. This is why we focus on creating tiered structures like the TEC Pro League or the TEC Challenger Series with its hybrid single-double elimination format and prize pool distribution.”

Indeed, the very tournament structure of The Esports Club Valorant Challenger series has made it possible for the games to be as close and as exciting as they have ever been.

The more macro knowledge a team has of their opponents, the more they will try to counter their strategies. And this can only happen when the top teams face each other more on a competitive level, and this is exactly what The Esports Club are trying to bring to the table.

Dr. Rushindra Sinha, CEO & co-founder of Global Esports, echoes the same sentiment. In a conversation with Sportskeeda’s Abhishek Mallick, Dr. Sinha, too, talked about the dominance that Velocity Gaming has enjoyed so far.

When asked if fans can finally look forward to Global Esports overthrowing Velocity Gaming as the best team in India anytime soon, he replied:

“We've actually not even made any formal announcements regarding our Valorant roster since we're still ironing out a few things at our end. Once we go all in and get our hands dirty, the Indian community will be thoroughly entertained with what we bring to the table and VLT will have to work a lot harder than they are to keep their undefeated title. If we're able to match up so close to them by putting in the time, effort, and resources we currently are, then they should be worried about us when we go all in.”

And Global Esports did, in fact, make Velocity Gaming work a lot harder to keep their crown.

With the matches being as close as they are lately, we cannot help but feel that the title of “the best Valorant team in India” will soon be up for grabs, with more than one team capable of earning the tag.

Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh