Ankit ‘V3nom’ Panth talks esports in India, future in CS2 and growing the ecosystem

I had a unique opportunity opportunity to speak to Ankit ‘V3nom’ Panth at the Red Bull event in Mumbai. He is one of the most well-known and well-known Counter-Strike gamers in India, and been playing for over a decade now.

Image Credit: Red Bull Gaming / Ali Bharmal

V3nom started playing Counter-Strike in a cafe in the suburb of Kandivali in Mumbai, India. He saw people playing CS 1.6 online and the level of sophistication in the game was what made him decide to focus on CS. In 2019, V3nom was officially signed by Red Bull Gaming as India’s first athlete. In addition to his gaming career, V3nom also dabbles in DJing and is a fitness fanatic.

What do you think about CS2 within our region and what do you feel needs to improve about it?

V3nom: At the moment, I believe the hype for CS2 is slowly picking up. We have already had quite a few offline tournaments of the game in the last few weeks at various events. I have heard as well that there are going to be a lot more tournaments that are going to be announced in the next year. I am really excited to see how the various teams from our country compete in most of them.

Honestly, the one thing that I believe needs to be improved is the number of tournament organizers hosting events at the grassroots level.

Bryan Francis: We have seen a lot more research and studies done by various companies to understand the growth of esports in India.

How do you feel the future of esports on our country?

V3nom: It is looking quite bright but I believe that there needs to be more events. Events similar to the ones hosted by Red Bull because taking the example of the Red Bull Campus Clutch, we need more brands to come in and do such events, only then I believe our scene will grow at a faster pace.

I also see a lot of improvement as compared to the start of the year. There are multiple events taking place be it in relation to mobile or PC games. One point to note as well is that the crowd turnout is increasing at a rapid rate which is good to see. We are now seeing fans getting ready to pay to watch events which then allows the price pools for events to increase as well.

I believe the goal for the next year has to be consistency and unity. Currently, there are multiple tournament organizers as well as brands within our ecosystem and if they come together, well then we could see the ecosystem grow.

Bryan Francis: You were present at Red Bull Campus Clutch as well as Skyesports Masters this year.

How crucial do you believe the involvement of the Indian esports fans is in helping the industry grow?

V3nom: If I am not wrong Red Bull Campus Clutch took place in Pune. I would consider that event quite a success due to the turnout of the number of fans at the event. When it comes to PC esports there were quite a lot of fans who were enjoying the vibe of the venue. If there are more fans at an event it does motivate the players as well to do better at the event and put their best foot forward.

What are your thoughts on events like this where creators and professional esports players play a traditional sport like cricket?

V3nom: It has been a great event . I have really enjoyed this years edition of Red Bull Showdown due to the new rules that they added to keep the game more interesting for the fans. Events like this take all of us gamers into the outside world. We are all used to play indoors at our homes and playing different games from one another. This event happens once a year and as such it provides us an opportunity as well to meet one another and by getting onto the pitch also helping some of us clear our fitness needs for the day.

Credit: Red Bull Game On

What are your feelings about the way your team lost this Showmatch?

V3nom: Honestly speaking I didn’t expect the result to go this one-sided. When the teams were being made, I felt that my team was quite good in quality. When the opposing scored over 200+ runs, we were still confident to be able to get some runs on the table. But that one over by Techno Gamer where he took 3 crucial wickets, I believe that is when we realized we are going to be losing this match.