“We first need to get to that top 5 in Asia Valorant spot consistently”: Ankit “V3nom” Panth, Dell Alienware India Ambassador

Dell, in partnership with The Esports Club and Team Liquid, is hosting the Dell Futurist Gaming to uplift amateur Valorant players and teams without the fear of facing any known professional teams altogether.

Dell has also partnered with Team Liquid, one of the most prominent esports teams in the world, to award the top team with a 1-on-1 mentoring session and exciting merchandise, and an exclusive virtual tour of the team liquid HQ in Amsterdam.

Registration for the Dell Futurist Gaming tournament has closed, with over 200 teams participating. Hence, any player or team interested in participating in the tournament can register before the closing date.

The schedule for Dell Futurist Valorant tournament. (Image via Dell)

In this exclusive interview, Ankit Panth, the brand ambassador for Alienware India, opens up to Amlan Roy of Sportskeeda Esports about the upcoming event hosted by Dell and the current condition of the Indian esports scene.

The Dell Futurists is created with the goal of supporting aspiring youths to build a career with their passion in mind.

To help out the new generation interested in gaming, art, music, cinema, and sustainability, Dell is leveraging social media mentors. It has a wide network of over 920 active Campassadors to connect 1.2 million students in 540 connected colleges across 270 cities.

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Ankit "V3nom" Panth talks about Dell Futurist Gaming tournament

Q. Ankit, to start off with this interview, how about telling our readers about yourself? From a gamer who used to play at internet cafes to becoming one of India’s best gaming content creators, how has the journey been?

Ankit: The journey has been fantastic. I began playing 14 years ago, and when I look at myself now, I always think it was a good decision. I remember the time when I used to save money for days to go to a gaming cafe just for 60 mins.

Those were difficult times because I didn’t have a PC at home, and not only that my parents were also against gaming.

Somewhere in my heart I always had this feeling that things will change one day and I will earn my PC to convince my parents that gaming is not bad. Alienware has been extremely helpful to me and my team.

I remember when the transition from 144 hertz to 240 hertz took place in Indian tournaments and we were left wondering how we would upgrade. Luckily we got the opportunity to get associated with Dell and Alienware around that time and all our professional gaming gear problems were solved.

All we had to do was just to tell them what we needed and we had those things in front of us. Our entire team was outfitted with the most cutting-edge Alienware technology, which allowed us to improve our gameplay.

In esports, if you don't have the best equipment, you won't be able to perform well, and Alienware ensures that partners have it all.

From their latest 240 hertz monitors at that time to the Alienware-17 powered by Intel i7, we were provided with it all. Now that it’s the era of 360 hertz, we will soon be upgrading to those and practicing hard for our upcoming tournaments.

I am grateful that I was able to pursue my passion. Today, I am still a professional esports athlete competing in Valorant, and my parents are very proud of me. Maybe the game has changed but the passion is still the same and I hope Alienware keeps supporting me and the team just like they did for Counter-Strike back in the day.

Q. The Indian esports scene has grown substantially within a matter of a few years and is still going strong. What are your thoughts on the current esports scene in India?

Ankit: I am very pleased to see how things are shaping up in the Indian gaming scene. The Indian esports ecosystem is expanding rapidly with the help of brands like Dell and Alienware which have been sponsoring teams and hosting tournaments every now and then.

I remember when Dell signed me up as their brand ambassador and gave assurance to my parents that I wasn’t doing anything wrong.

As time went on, we began to see more tournaments with larger prize money and started to feel like athletes who compete almost every single day. In the past, we had very few tournaments a year, maybe 2-3 big events, which is not the case anymore.

International organizations have started coming in and signing players and teams. If you have a strong desire to compete in esports and are willing to put in the effort, now is the time.

Q. Do you think South Asia will be having its own circuit with VCC 2021? Do you believe Global Esports will be able to dominate the Indian scene again next year?

Ankit: I really hope so, but I believe that it is very difficult at this moment. The regions around us play much better than us, so requesting for our own circuit or some exclusive event, before proving ourselves out there is not appropriate.

I know we are not yet ready to go toe to toe with teams from China, Singapore, and the rest of Asia, so I feel we first need to get to that top 5 in Asia spot consistently, and then maybe we could ask for our own circuit.

We have some very good teams in India, including Global Esports, and I genuinely think that next year will be even more competitive, so whoever works the hardest will win.

Q. The Valorant APAC Last Chance Qualifier is well on its way, and Global Esports put up an incredible fight to go as far as they have in the event. What are your thoughts on the future of Indian Valorant, and how difficult it must have been for Global Esports to achieve what they have?

Ankit: It was indeed very difficult for them and that is the harsh reality, however neither I nor anyone else wanted them to play under that pressure. We all want them to have a good time irrespective of the results. We all know where we stand, and it will take some time before we begin to perform at international events.

We need to keep working hard and keep learning because we are still far away from winning an international LAN. I know we as a scene had many problems but slowly those problems are slowly disappearing.

Organizations have begun to arrive, players are being paid, boot camps are being established, and I am confident that things will only get better from here.

Q. Can you brief our readers about the Dell Futurist Gaming tournament and how young amateur players are getting a chance to make their own name in the industry?

Ankit: Dell Futurist Gaming tournaments are for all those players who want to make a name or get noticed in the Indian gaming scene. Normally, tournaments like this are open to the public, however, we have restricted entry for professionals. So that aspiring gamers and teams can demonstrate their skills without worrying about who they will face.

When you see a familiar team in your bracket, you get nervous, but everyone here will be at the same level, at least at the start. They will also be guided along the way by one of the world's best teams/players/content creators. We've been collaborating with Team Liquid to assist these gamers, which is a fantastic initiative.

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Dell Futurist Program was created with the goal of uplifting the new generation’s career. The Dell Futurist Program consists of five major categories: Gaming, Cinema, Music, Art, and Sustainability to help the world.

Dell Futurist Gaming is going to help Indian gamers rise up the ranks and provide them with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet their favorite esports stars from Team Liquid. It will give them first-hand experience and exposure as they’ll be mentored by players who’ve been in the industry for a very long time.

As a result, the winners of Dell Futurist Gaming can also turn their passion into a career as they’ll emerge victorious against thousands of other teams and would have already proved their mettle in one of the biggest competitions.