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Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) made a name for itself even before the game was released. After its announcement, fans of the battle royale genre in India were skeptical of BGMI living up to the level of PUBG Mobile.
However, after the game was fully released for the masses, gamers took it in open-armed.
In an exclusive interview, Sportskeeda Esports’ Subhradeep Mukherjee had a chance to talk to Punk from Team XO about some technicalities of being a successful esports organization in professional BGMI esports.
Punk talks about BGMI and the future of esports internationally
Q: As a young, aspiring professional in BGMI, is there any role model or someone you looked up to in the early stages of learning the game?
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Punk: Back in the day, when I was learning to play the game and understanding the meta, I used to follow Scout a lot, which I still do. He has been one of the reasons behind my success.
The amount of hard work and dedication he puts in while playing is just insane. Combining his ability to assault, snipe, and flank, he always brought a new taste to the gameplay. This is one of the many reasons I started following Scout from the beginning.
Q: As the market for BGMI is growing every day, where do you see Indian mobile gaming in the future compared to the rest of the world?
Punk: Well, I would like to answer a different version of this question. I want to see mobile esports go on par with conventional sports. I want esports to reach that level where parents don’t mind if someone wants to pursue esports as a full-time career, just like medicine or engineering.
Q: While some mechanics remain pretty similar to PUBG Mobile, as per the developers, BGMI is a wholly new game with unique aspects. Do you think it does justice to what PUBG Mobile created?
Punk: I will not go too deep into the mechanical aspects of BGMI, but it has done justice to what PUBG Mobile has created. The game improvises a lot, and Indian servers have been introduced, which helps players bring much more out of themselves.
Q: As a successful esports roster, the team must have some sort of a set routine that they undergo to keep everyone focused. Can you shed some light on your daily routine as a team?
Punk: The team follows a simple routine, nothing fancy as such. We get up in the morning and hop into the training grounds, TDMs, and Arcade matches. After vigorous 1 to 2 hours practice sessions, we have our tournaments and events lined up for the whole day, usually from 12 pm to 12 am. Once everything is over, the boys chill and relax among themselves after a long tiring day.
Q: Team coordination is one of the most important factors when it comes to a team. How is the coordination between you guys?
Punk: As already mentioned earlier, we eat, sleep, and play together under the same roof and have been doing so for months. We co-ordinate very well among ourselves.
Everyone understands each other, the nature of their gameplay and supports them whenever necessary. We will have our team manager look into event booking and other management work as we are only left to play together for the whole day.
The synergy I have built with my boys helps me get comfortable during my game.
Q: BGMI being a game exclusively made in India, how proud do you feel while playing it?
Punk: The developers creating a game exclusively for India and the Indian players themselves show their priority towards our country. Obviously, it makes us feel proud playing the title.
But this is also a bit worrying for the future of Indian teams as we are not allowed to participate in international tournaments, which have considerably higher prize pools.
Q: What are your thoughts about PUBG Mobile being recognized as one of the games at the 2022 Asian Games? Do you wish to participate in the event?
Punk: Yes, I do wish to participate with my team at the 2022 Asian Games. I hope that the officials at Krafton will be successful in coming to an agreement with the Indian government and Asian Games officials so that BGMI is included in the list of games.
Q: As the PUBG Mobile version for the Asian Games is quite different from BGMI, what are your thoughts? How do you wish to adapt if the occasion arrives?
Punk: I had played PUBG Mobile for 1.5 years before the game got banned, so it won’t be a challenge to shift to the game if any such occasion arrives in the future. But I do wish BGMI would be included in the Asian Games 2022 alongside PUBG Mobile.
Q: Lastly, are there any words of wisdom you have for aspiring BGMI players who wish to one day represent another team in the mobile esports scene?
Punk: Young people are often too excited to start any journey without knowing the hard work they have to put in to succeed. I would suggest not to expect results very early. Indian mobile esports has grown a lot, and the competition here is top-notch.
One should always strive for success and play with full dedication and passion. Results will eventually come at the right stage of your life when you need them the most.
