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Team Exploit’s Areeb “Storax” Rehman parted his ways with the roster after the end of the Valorant Conquerors Championship (VCC) to pursue his esports career in the USA.
Valorant Conquerors Championship saw the top Valorant teams from different South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. However, only three teams made it to the end, out of which two were from India and one from Pakistan. It was Team Exploit that got an opportunity to represent its country in the VCC after winning the VCC Pakistan & Afghanistan Qualifier 2.
The Pakistani Valorant team gave tough competition to India’s top two teams and was even successful in defeating Velocity Gaming in the group stage. However, Team Exploit made it to third position in the Valorant Conquerors Championship after losing to Global Esports in the VCC Lower Bracket Final. Its Valorant Conquerors Championship journey ended by being among the top three teams in South Asia and the top one in Pakistan.
Areeb “Storax” Rehman, the former IGL of Team Exploit, on the team’s journey to the Valorant Conquerors Championship, and his future plans
In a recent conversation with Sportskeeda Esports' Pratiti Dhang, Storax, the former IGL and player of Team Exploit, talks about his journey from CS: GO to Valorant. He also shares his experience with the team during the Valorant Conquerors Championship and the future of the Valorant esports scene in Pakistan.
Here is an excerpt of the conversation.
Q: Storax, please tell our readers a bit about yourself and your journey to heading Team Exploit in Valorant Conquerors Championship, as their IGL and making it to third place?
Storax: My name is Areeb Rehman, also known as Storax. I started playing CS: GO when I was 13 years old, and later got into competitive gaming when I was 15.
I started off my Valorant journey when it came out in close beta. My teammates - Shooter, K1ng, and I were the first ones to start playing Valorant in Pakistan. The road to VCC was hectic and tough with all the practice and preparation.
But in the end, it was all worth it knowing that we could have defeated the teams in the first (Global Esports) and the second position (Velocity Gaming) in VCC if we had just a little more time to practice.
Q: What were your key responsibilities to lead Pakitan’s top Valorant team in VCC? Can you share some of your experiences?
Storax: The responsibility that lay on my shoulder was to get the maximum potential out of the players, to experiment with what worked for us as a team, and to find the sweet spot for the team where we could perform the best.
Q: Team Exploit made it to third place in Valorant Conquerors Championship. What do you think were the things that could have been done better? What were the hurdles that the team faced?
Storax: I think we made mistakes on an individual level and small errors which we could have fixed led us to secure a third-place where we could have done better. But learning from losses is what it is all about.
Q: Even though Team Exploit didn’t make it to the Valorant Champion Tour APAC Last Chance qualifiers, you all had a lot of potential. Team Exploit gave a head-to-head competition to some of the strong teams like Velocity Gaming and Global Esports. In fact, you all defeated Velocity Gaming in the VCC Group A playoffs. What do you think made it happen? How did the team prepare for it?
Storax: We were in the game until the end which proves to a lot of people that what we did was not a fluke but hard work and preparation that made us come this far. Defeating Velocity Gaming in the groups and almost beating them in the play-offs required a lot of counter strategies and reading their plays which made us win in the groups and helped us in the playoff game as well.
Q: In our previous interviews, Abdul "HSB" Haseeb and Murtaza “MRT” Khan mentioned Velocity Gaming will be challenging for Team Exploit. How confident was the team in defeating Velocity Gaming in the VCC Group A playoffs, before the match?
Storax: The team was absolutely confident in its ability to defeat any team and to try to win the whole event. In the end, Team Exploit, Velocity Gaming and Global Esports fought tooth and nail for the last chance spot and it wasn’t an easy road for any team.
Q: You left Team Exploit, after VCC got over, to pursue an esports career in the USA. Are you still going to stay connected to the team?
Storax: For people who don’t know much about us, I have played with HSB for about 7 years, and with Shooter, K1ng and Soulm8 for about 5 years. So yes, I am still connected with the team and the organization. I will give my share of input to the team no matter where I am. I will always try to play my role in making the team succeed.
Q: After you signed off from Team Exploit’s Valorant roster, HSB took the role of IGL. How confident are you about him being best suited for the role?
Storax: HSB is not new to the role of IGL. Even when I was leading, out of all the players, HSB and Soulm8 were the ones helping me most of the time with the strategy and mid-round calling. I do believe the team will find their groove with HSB as their IGL.
Q: What are your future plans on pursuing your esports career in the USA? Will you be seen joining any other team there?
Storax: My future plans are to study in the USA and at the same time I am exploring my options on what team to join and will try my best to pursue my career in NA. If anyone has inquiries, my Twitter DMs are always open to them.
Q: What do you think is the future of Pakitan’s Valorant esports scene, after Valorant Conquerors Championship? Will there be more players and teams from Pakistan coming up in the future?
Storax: I think finally esports is growing in Pakistan with all the opportunities we are getting from Riot and organizers such as NODWIN Gaming and Skyesports giving Pakistan a slot to compete in. I think Pakistan has some promising talent which will soon be recognized by players, and soon there will be more teams rather than just Team Exploit competing in the South Asia Region.
Q: Any words for the fans?
Storax: I know sometimes the result that you, the fans, expect is not the one we deliver, but we try our best with the resources we have. Nothing pushes us more than seeing the support that our fans and audience have for us. I really don’t think we could have performed as well as we did in VCC if there wasn’t any encouragement from the fans from not only Pakistan but also from India and other regions. Also, I would like to thank you guys for sticking with us through this journey.
