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Back in October 2020, Riot Games unveiled the Valorant leaderboard of the top 100 players from each region. Mohit “MW1” Wakle was at the 78th position of the APAC leaderboard.
Mohit started his esports journey as a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player with the IGN SpawN. After winning multiple titles, he decided to take a break from professional esports and finish his education.
In March 2021, Skyesports unveiled the Skyesports League 2021. The tournament brought together players across India and formed teams representative of Indian cities in an auction method. The highest bid went to Mohit, whom the Rajasthan Strikers picked up for 620,000 Skycreds.
In an exclusive conversation with Sportskeeda Esports’ Suryadeepto Sengupta, Mohit “MW1” Wakle opened up about the Indian gaming community's potential and Valorant Conquerors Championship.
Mohit "MW1" Wakle on his journey from Counter-Strike to Valorant, his YouTube experience and the future of Indina gaming.
SK: Mohit tell us a bit about yourself, about your journey from Counter-Strike Global Offensive to Valorant, and how your time has been transitioning from professional esports to streaming?
Mohit: Hello, My name is Mohit Wakle I’m 23 years old, and I am currently studying B.Arch. I started playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in 2014, but I have been playing Counter-Strike 1.6 & Counter-Strike: Condition Zero since 2012.
My journey in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was full of ups and downs. Back in the day, gaming was limited due to my studies. I was just playing for fun with friends in the latter half of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, it helped me a lot to reduce stress.
Switching to Valorant was never in my mind, I didn't like the game until Mohit ‘Supermad’ Rajgaria forced me to try it once haha. Those were the days I just started Valorant, was absolutely getting beaten up by the opponents & that's how the grind started.
I never wanted to be a full-time streamer, I just wanted to stream for fun so that later on if anything happens and I couldn't play, I would at least watch the fun games that I played with my friends (when I started streaming CSGO). In streaming Valorant, I got huge help from the streamers & our community helped me grow.
When was the first time that you decided to pursue a career in professional esports? Were your parents supportive of your decision? What were some of the most memorable moments of your early career?
Mohit: To be honest, I always wanted to be a professional player from the start in 2014, but if you want to become a “successful” professional player you have to play the game full time, practice full time, you cannot do any other things along with it.
I asked my parents but they believed I should complete my studies first (which was 2-3 years at that time). This never stopped me, and I kept playing events as much as I could.
In 2016, we won ESL Challengers in Bangalore (Team dare2dream). Every LAN event I attended was never with my family's permission. It was always a game of hide-n-seek, which ended up being too stressful. I won't go into details & set the wrong examples for our youngsters.
In 2015 we beat team BOT from UAE and qualified for the Asus Rog Masters Malaysia, but we had passport issues. This was a memorable event that later turned into heartbreak for life.
Playing with my friends and winning against good teams gave me ultimate satisfaction. These friends are always there with me no matter what. We created so many memories inside & outside the server.
How influential would you say video games have been for you while growing up? What were some of your favorite titles at the time?
Mohit: I used to play Roadrash, NFS, Contra with my school friends back in 2012. My neighbors introduced me to Counter-Strike. So they did some settings on LAN & we 4-5 people could play on one server against each other, it was super exciting back then.
As a player from Dare2Dream to Global Esports, you have participated in multiple Counter-Strike Tournaments, what were some of your most fond memories along the journey?
Mohit: Some of my most memorable achievements are,
- 1st place in ESL Challengers 2016 (Dare2Dream)
- 4th place in Zowie Extremesland India Qualifier 2017 (MxB)
- 1st Place in Edge Kolkata 2017 (MxB)
- 2nd Place in ESL Masters Winters 2017 (2ez Gaming)
I couldn't achieve much, I missed so many LAN events due to my exams too.
Back in 2020 October, when Riot Games released the Valorant Leaderboard, you were ranked 78th in the APAC region. How was the feeling to know you’re one of the top players in the region?
Mohit: Tbh, I really didn't know how I got up there. I don't even know the criteria they selected. I was just happy & proud to see an Indian Valorant player's name.
This is the time when I was free from studies and the also covid situation started impacting a lot. Quarantine helped me play a lot more & learn Valorant faster.
It felt super good, but I knew there were so many players out there better than me who weren't in the top 100, so the rankings didn't make sense for me at all.
During the auction of Skyesports Valorant League 2021, you won the highest bid of 620,000 SkyCreds and joined the team Rajasthan Strikers. Do you expect the highest bid from the teams? What was your immediate reaction when you learned the news?
Mohit: I was stunned and also super glad to see the response from all the owners. It was really overwhelming. I never believed I would get such high creds.
All thanks to Ghatak sir & team Rajasthan for believing in me.
You have been a consistent performer throughout Skyesports Valorant League. Currently, you’re in the 3rd position on the leaderboard with 900+ kills. What has been your experience throughout the tournament?
Mohit: Experience has been super good so far. I got to learn a lot with my new teammates. In all the serious games we somehow stay calm and enjoy all the rounds.
I don't plan to get kills nor do I look at the leaderboard. At the end of the day, what matters for me is if I did my role properly and the main thing is winning the game.
Rajasthan Strikers is currently 1st in the standings and has secured a place in the playoffs. Which other teams do you expect to face in the playoffs?
Mohit: I think all the teams capable of winning matches this season, but I feel Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata/Mumbai will make it through. It’s a close call for the 4th position.
Apart from being a Valorant pro, you garnered some success as a content creator as well. Your YouTube channel currently has over 10k subscribers and is growing even bigger by the day. Can you tell us a bit about how you started with the whole concept of concept creation and the hurdles you faced during the channel’s early days?
Mohit: I started Streaming in 2019. I used to stream from Fidato Gaming Cafe, near my college. It was slow progress but I just kept doing it. Never thought I would hit 5k and 10k so quickly. All thanks to my friends & YouTubers who helped me to grow.
My concept was to just live stream for fun, I believed that I can help new players to improve and also share my thoughts with them while playing.
Coming off your amazing performance in Skyesports Valorant League 2021, do you wish to return to professional esports through Valorant anytime soon?
Mohit: Sadly, not soon. This is my 5th & final year of B.Arch. I want to complete it quickly & swiftly.
I cannot say anything right now about playing professional valorant. I would just wait and see what the situation is after 1 year.
Where do you see yourself, both as a former professional esports player and a content creator, in the next five years?
Mohit: Never thought about it. Currently, I am just happy where I am. I might get more irregular with streaming too, due to my studies. So, I don't see any growth, but i'll keep streaming whenever I can.
If you ask me about my goals, I want to represent my country and make everyone proud, be it CS: GO or Valorant. If I ever come back to playing professionally with a team, I will give my all to achieve this goal.
Who is your preferred agent, and how does the agent compliment your gameplay style?
Mohit: I prefer Jett overall, as I play Jett a lot in competitive Valorant games. Jett’s abilities help me to do so many things at once.
Along with Jett, I love playing breach, Reyna, and also Killjoy. Nowadays, I am trying to learn Phoenix, Raze ,Astra & Sova.
Valorant has become one of the more popular esports titles within just a year of launch. Do you think the game has long-time sustainability potential, or will the player count reduce to a much smaller but stable number over the years?
Mohit: Yes, I think we can safely say it now that it's getting bigger and better. Valorant devs & Riot admins are doing their absolute best in replying to community feedback, which CS:GO lacked. Also it is super interesting to watch Valorant matches. These factors would definitely help valorant to grow a lot more.
Which international esports player do you consider to be a personal inspirational role model?
Mohit: I watch all the Valorant pros playing, everyone offers something new. I follow TenZ, Hiko and Aceu the most. Tenz is super cute and lethal at the same time; super consistent with his aim.
Do you think that the Indian Valorant community has the potential to compete at an international level, on par with NA or the EU valorant community?
Mohit: Yes, I believe we have all the skills. I just feel if you want to compete against the best you have to play against the best. Scrims against the top teams. If our Indian teams could go to in NA / EU or even SG. It would help them a lot.
It won't be long until we see an Indian team at VCT. But the road to VCT is toooooo tough! I still believe our teams can do it!
Nodwin Gaming recently announced the Valorant Conqueror Championship. The tournament is an opportunity for Indian teams to possibly compete at the Valorant Champions Tour. What are your thoughts regarding the Tournament?
Mohit: Valorant Conqueror Championship is a really big step, everyone was silently waiting for it. The road to VCT is very difficult, but now at least there's a clear chance to compete & win.
We are going to see a lot more new teams. It will really boost our Indian Valorant scene. All thanks to Riot & Nodwin gaming, and my best wishes to all the teams out there, make us proud.
The Indian gaming community is well known for being mobile-centric. Do you think the recent PUBG Mobile ban, as well as the accessibility of Valorant, is influencing the community in a different direction? How, do you think the Indian gaming community will evolve in the upcoming years, and can the upcoming Battlegrounds Mobile India affect the current attention and growth rate of competitive Valorant tournaments
Mohit: I really have nothing to say on this, but it's absolutely true that Valorant viewership got boosted because of PUBGM players. PUBGM is a different game & a different world. I hope everything sorts out soon. We have so many talented players in it and they have already made us proud at international events. I don't know much about the BGMI news but if it's true then it would get bigger than it was earlier.
Do you think video games have reached mainstream acceptance in India or is it still considered a niche demographic?
Mohit: I think it's still not mainstream. No parent would allow their kids to play video games professionally. There are a few reasons for it. If we get a proper system or if we get help from our govt. we can build a completely new system & then that would be the real start and everybody would be on the same page.
Any words of wisdom for the upcoming generation of esports players and content creators?
Mohit: I feel like many players still believe there are tips and tricks to get good. Tbh, there are no shortcuts. You have to put in a lot of hours, trust your process & keep learning new things.
Play to be a better version of you, also the right mentality & approach would help new players a lot.
