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Team Villainous secured the title of Best College/University Valorant Team at the Red Bull Campus Clutch. From just a group of friends, they went on to become a full-fledged team, taking on Velocity Esports and becoming one of the best college/university rosters in India.
The Journey of Team Villanious has been short, but eventful.
In an exclusive conversation with Sportskeeda Esports’ Suryadeepto Sengupta, Meet Patel of Team Villanious opened up about their win, the Indian gaming community's potential, and the Valorant Conquerors Championship.
Meet Patel talks about Valorant, Indian esports, and Villainous
Q. Hey team Villainous, do tell our readers a bit about yourselves and your journey from the formation of your roster to winning the Red Bull Campus Clutch India.
Meet: We have been friends for more than 4-5 years, we used to play games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Grand Theft Auto 5 together. Last year, we all got the closed beta keys, and ever since then, we have been playing together.
We never planned to play professionally or form a roster, we just played for fun. Then we took part in some tournaments casually, which we ended up winning. During that time, one of our players went abroad, so Bullseye joined the roster.
We have been playing since June 2020 but got major recognition during The Esports Club’s Valorant Invitational. We played Velocity Gaming (then Team Mahi) and secured 11 round wins against them.
We never thought we would win the red Bull Campus Clutch. We didn’t have much practice. We just played for fun. The synergy in our team is natural. We have been playing together for so long that we understand what each of us is thinking during the match.
Q. You guys won the Red Bull Campus Clutch India having faced off against strong teams and have proven to be the best college/university team in the country. How does that feel?
Meet: I’m very proud of our achievement, after the win, my dad came and congratulated us. We went on our Discord server, turned on our cameras, and danced together like crazy. My mom and dad are very proud. He WhatsApps all the family members that my son has won and he’ll be representing India.
Q. Skyesports, the official broadcasting partner of Red Bull Campus Clutch India, broadcasted the entire tournament in 8 languages. Any thoughts on the amazing production and broadcast by Skyesports?
Meet: Skyesports is one of the top broadcasting partners and organizers in the country. From Hindi and Punjabi to Tamil and Telugu, all of the broadcasts were really amazing. From casting to match observation, everything about the production was top-notch. I really enjoyed their entire broadcast.
Q. What are your thoughts on the Red Bull Campus Clutch not only bringing college/university student teams from across the world face to face with each other, but also inspiring a new generation of esports players?
Meet It is very important for the Indian players to be encouraged. Since Valorant came out, many talented players have decided to pursue a career in it, and many organizations have debuted new teams as well. Red Bull is doing a great job encouraging players to pick up esports.
Q. Now that you guys are the National Champions, the next hurdle is to win the online qualifier starting from June 3rd and go to Madrid for the Valorant LAN event from July 17th. How have you guys been preparing for that?
Meet: Well, the thing is we aren’t doing any extra practice. We will just give it our best shot and hope that's enough.
Q. Do you think the Indian Valorant community has the potential to compete at an international level, on par with the NA or EU valorant communities? Will you guys be participating in the recently announced Valorant Conquerors Championship, which will give the Indian teams an opportunity to participate in the Valorant Champions Tour?
Meet: India does have the potential to compete, but not right now. Teams like Velocity Gaming and Global Esports are performing really well. They can certainly compete with teams from NA and EU, but for the rest of the region, it will take time.
The VCC will encourage young players to pursue esports as a career. Young players will be motivated to see top teams competing against each other and competing against the world.
Q. Valorant has risen to become one of the more popular esports titles within just a year of its launch. Do you guys think the game has long-term sustainability potential, or will the player count reduce to a much smaller but stable number over the years?
Meet: Valorant does have the potential to last long, but I’m not sure if it can last as long as CS: GO. Valorant is really fun to play, and the regular release of new agents and maps really add to the game's playability. There are really great tournaments happening, much more so than CS: GO in its heyday.
Q. Who are some of the international professional Valorant players you guys find inspiring?
Meet: I Love TenZ. He's a top player right now. It may be too mainstream to like him, but I really do. He's got goals and gameplay, and he's a very humble person. Also, Shahzam and Dapr are really good. As for streamers, I really like Average Jonas. I really like his Sova lineups.
Q. Any tips, tricks or words of advice for players looking to improve their Valorant skills?
Meet: Keep on grinding and practicing. Be open and talk to your parents, as they’ll be supportive. Try to make a team with your friends. Then you’ll automatically have a synergy.
