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Red Bull Campus Clutch is a wonderful initiative that allows students from colleges and universities around the globe to dip their toes into the world of professional Valorant.
While a lot of players participate in the initial stages, only the top teams get to represent their country on the grandest stage of them all. This year, the selected teams will make their way to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to compete for bragging rights.
Tanmay "FOX" Verma is a young Valorant professional from India. An integral member of Team Villainous, he'll be representing his nation with his teammates in Brazil.
Amitesh Dhar of Sportskeeda Esports got in touch with FOX, and here's what the Raze main had to say about the struggles of being an esports athlete in the country, the recent Chamber nerfs, and their preparations for the Red Bull Campus Clutch World Finals.
Note: This article has been edited for better readability.
Team Villainous' FOX talks about his journey and the Valorant Red Bull Campus Clutch tournament 2022
Q. Hi Tanmay, so nice to have you here. Before we begin the interview, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Tanmay: Hi, I’m Tanmay. I’m pursuing my Bachelor's in Computer Applications. I’m currently a part of Medal Esports, and I play Valorant professionally. I do play other games like Apex and Overwatch sometimes, but my main focus is Valorant. I used to play Fortnite a lot, too.
Q. Being a gamer in India isn’t an easy job. What are the obstacles you’ve faced in your journey, and how have you overcome them?
Tanmay: I started gaming very late. I started gaming in the 12th grade, which isn’t the right time to start because there’s a lot we need to focus on with respect to our studies. There was a new café in our area where I started playing Counter-Strike.
Prior to that, I was just a casual gamer and wasn’t really interested in competitive gaming. I was mostly into sports before that.
I used to spend a lot of time in the café. My parents weren’t supportive at the beginning. They were skeptical from the beginning. When they got to know about the time I was spending in the café, they told me not to give so much time to gaming. After a point of time, I didn’t tell them that I was gaming for such long hours.
I decided not to tell them because I wanted to get some solid results before I could approach them. When I finally got into a team and started winning tournaments, that’s when I could tell them that gaming is also a viable career choice.
Balancing studies and a professional gaming career isn’t easy at all, either. However, if you really want to be an esports player, you will have to put your head down and do the things that you need to do.
Q. What is that one unique factor about Valorant that is absent in other tactical shooters in the market?
Tanmay: Valorant is one such tactical shooter which has hero abilities that allow you to create multiple opportunities in a match. You can do so much, and the possibilities are endless.
The game is very dynamic, and teams have a very unique approach to the overall playstyle. The concept is very unique. I also love the way Riot Games is taking care of things with respect to the title.
4. What is your opinion of the current esports scene in India? Which areas do you feel need to be worked upon?
Tanmay: People need to realize that nothing is stable, so you have to keep working on yourself. It’s not that you reach a certain point, and that’s the end. You will have to keep working hard no matter what.
Esports is an industry where you need to keep working and building new ideas to get the attention of the entire community. This is something that we need to realize. We’re a growing industry, but there are some archaic concepts that we still follow. Those need to change.
Q. What is your opinion about the franchising system in Valorant? Will this new model be beneficial for the title in the long run? Or will it hinder the growth of the overall scene as a whole?
Tanmay: I think this is a good thing. The addition of the Ascension League is a very good idea for players and organizations at the same time. It makes players feel safe.
Prior to this, players used to question their position in a team, but with the Franchising system, some security is guaranteed. This security is something that players who aren't a part of the franchise system can also look forward to.
Q. What’s your favorite Agent in Valorant?
Tanmay: My favorite agent is Raze, no doubt. I love the movement aspect of it. If there’s a movement aspect to any title in the market, if I’m playing that title, I’ll try to master it.
Q. Riot Games recently announced some nerfs for Chamber, Fade, and some other Agents with the 5.12 update. What do you feel about the nerfs? How will these nerfs affect the overall gameplay and Agent selection in the upcoming Valorant tournaments?
Tanmay: I feel that the nerfs were balanced. I don’t want a particular Agent to run on every single map. This allows players to pick only one Agent all the time. There’s no versatility.
Chamber is still viable on smaller maps. I like that Riot Games has introduced these changes. When it comes to the Agent selection after these nerfs go live, Chamber might be replaced on bigger maps like Breeze. However, picking a different Agent will involve changes in the playstyle as well.
Q. What does your practice routine look like, especially when preparing for Red Bull Campus Clutch?
Tanmay: Personally, I’m putting in a good number of hours trying to hone my skills in Valorant. As a team, we’re trying to be on the same page and focus on our fundamentals.
If you play as a team and if you do things as a team, you will win! In this team, I’m the In-Game Lead. Paradox and I are the ones calling the shots. Paradox will call the shots while I’ll be the one setting everyone up on the map.
