"We are the best Pokemon Unite team in the country": Revenant Esports' XesoL discusses team's recent run and Asia Champions League 2023 (Exclusive)

Pokemon Unite has quickly become one of the most beloved video games in the long-running global franchise. The esports scene in the subcontinent has also seen the mobile MOBA gain prominence over the past year, with multiple tournaments and significant prize pools to entice the best talents out there.

Revenant Esports are a dominant force among the existing Pokemon Unite teams in India. After coming second in the Pokemon Unite India Open 2022, they were crowned the champions of the Asian Champions League 2023 - India. Their impressive run earned them a berth at the upcoming Pokemon Unite Asia Champions League 2023 in Malaysia.

I got to pick the brains of Revenant Esports' XesoL regarding the team's current run, their preparations for the upcoming international challenge, and plenty more.

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Revenant Esports' XesoL discusses the team's determination and preparation for the Pokemon Unite Asia Champions League 2023

Q. Revenant Esports has been putting in strong performances over the last year. How does it feel to be one of the two Indian teams that get to participate in the Pokemon Unite Asia Champions League?

XesoL - To be honest, it doesn’t really feel anything special. We are the best Pokemon Unite team in the country and winning national events is something that we have gotten used to.

I want to focus on international events and we are going to give it our all in the Champions League Finals. I am heated up to perform in Malaysia and bring the international trophy for India.

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Q. How did the team react after their disappointing run at the Pokemon Unite Unite World Championship 2022? What do you think went wrong?

XesoL - I would say the performance we had during the WCS London was not pretty bad. It wasn’t our gameplay which was the problem, as the games were pretty even against teams from Japan, APAC, and Korea.

The problem was that we didn’t have any LAN experience, especially me, Nova, and Omen. Being our first LAN, we lost our nerves in crucial situations, which led to the loss. Now, though, we have played three or four LANs already, so we are much more prepared for Malaysia and are going to fight for the trophy.

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Q. While Revenant Esports had a difficult time during the League Stage of the Pokemon Unite Asia Champions League 2023 - India, they had an excellent run in the playoffs and were crowned the champions. What did the team do to bring about such a turnaround in their fortunes in between the two stages?

XesoL - Looking at our past records, we have never been a team that comes into the losers bracket. We have always aced the group stages of important tournaments, but the ACL India qualifier saw us lose in some important matches.

Our strategy after the Phase 1 disappointment was to take it one game at a time. We weren’t thinking if we could win the series but were instead focusing and hyping up the ongoing game, even if we lost the previous one. This paid off as we took down all the competition to become the Indian champions again.

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Q. How has the team been preparing for their upcoming participation at the Pokemon Unite Asia Champions League? Will we see a more positive result on the international stage this time around?

XesoL - "I am pretty excited, but nervous" was my punch line during the WCS London. Now, though, this has changed to "I am only excited and pretty confident" about performing against these teams.

We have really evolved as a team because of the high exposure, including the LAN events we’ve played in the past few months. I have faith in my teammates that our players will play great under pressure, irrespective of how much worse the situation gets.

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Q. Pokemon Unite is quite a unique take on the long-running global franchise. What drew you to playing the title professionally?

XesoL - I never really thought I would be playing Pokemon Unite as an esports player. I have always had an interest in playing MOBA games since my childhood and have always been passionate about watching SEA tournaments to improve myself even though I wasn’t an esports player.

But when the Pokemon Unite tournaments started popping up, I thought of participating and focusing on making my own Pokemon Unite team. I lost my first tournament against a known ex-Dota team, but after that, I have had the most amount of win streak in winning tournaments.

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Q. What is your favorite pick in the current meta? What is your opinion about the recent debut of Zacian and the community complaining about the license being too overpowered?

XesoL - The meta is really flexible due to the draft and very limited Pokemon in every role. Mostly, both teams prioritize the Pokemon that are good enough to be played in the present meta. So, you’ll mostly see the same Pokemon coming forth in both of the teams.

As far as I know, Zacian is kind of broken, but the team can kite his spells, so that makes him useless after midgame once it gets shut down and does EXP giveaway. So, it's not like the Pokemon is broken; it’s about what comps they are rocking with the Pokemon around it that makes a draft broken.

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Q. What is your opinion regarding the esports scene in India over the past couple of years? What would you advise someone who is looking to get into gaming and competing professionally in our country?

XesoL - The esports scene of the country has grown pretty rapidly in the past few years. Back then, everyone was focused on one or two games, but now, even MOBA titles like Pokemon Unite have a great esports scenario.

To be honest, unless someone is absolutely passionate about becoming an esports player, I wouldn’t recommend getting into the field as it's really cut-throat and hard to be consistent. Staying away from my family is also something that’s tough.

But being an esports player is definitely a dream come true. So anyone looking to get in should give it a try but also know when it's time to step back and always have a backup ready.