"PUBG Mobile's ban in India led to growth of Free Fire's player base": Popular Free Fire streamer Tau (JIGS Official)

Tau is a content creator at Jigs Official with nearly 800,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel. His channel is based on Garena's Title Free Fire, while he is also a part of Esports XO.

The creator started his journey in the early days of the lockdown and has built up a massive audience in a short period, becoming an inspiration to many growing creators in the industry.

The 19-year-old gaming icon from Uttar Pradesh shares a lot about his personal and professional life in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Esports' Ajay Assudani.

Q1. How has been the quarantine period for you so far?

Tau - During the early months of the lockdown, everyone stayed at home. I had nothing to do, but since we were already playing Free Fire, we came up with the idea of creating gaming-related content on YouTube and began competing in esports tournaments. So, those days were highly productive and aided us in getting here.

---

Q2. How was the support from your family when you initially started gaming?

Tau - I am a dedicated person in whatever I do, so my family trusted me. As any typical parents would, they had some concerns regarding gaming, about where it would take me and its future. They never restricted me in whatever I did, though.

Convincing my parents to move to the Gaming House in Bengaluru, Karnataka, from Uttar Pradesh, was also a difficult task that took one to two weeks of convincing, but they eventually agreed.

---

Q3. What did you do in your school days?

Tau - I enjoyed going to school until class 10 and kept a good level of attendance, but when I chose Commerce n Class 11, my focus shifted to gaming. Despite this, I was able to get reasonably good grades because I studied during the exam days. I notched the First Division in the 12th grade, though I barely passed Class 11.

---

Q4. Who is your best friend in the Free Fire community, and why?

Tau - The current FFIC champion, Maryx from Galaxy Racers, is my best friend in the community. We have been together for three years and always planned to do something out of the game as well.

I also used to play competitively, but things were not in my favor. Back then, I was an esports player but got banned from one of the official tournaments for one year.

Going deeper into the story, it was the Booyah Streamers Battle, and I was playing the tournament with SK Sabir's team, another renowned YouTuber in the industry. Some of the teams were using a third-party application, and the event was not being conducted fairly, so we decided not to play, and that's how we broke the tournament rules.

I got demotivated during the ban's start, which I told Maryx, and I always thought of doing something out of the game. Both of us have been in a good space in our respective fields so far.

Things are going well now, and currently, I am also in Garena's Partner Program. I also have a good YouTube family, and I now play the game competitively, too, as the ban has been lifted.

Q5. What has been your favorite collaboration that Garena ever did to bring characters in-game?

Tau - My favorite collaboration was Ronaldo, as everyone didn't know about the game, but a lot already knew the famous footballer. When Garena announced the collaboration, a lot of users would have shown interest in the game.

Garena has another collaboration lined up with an Arab actor, so let's see how it goes with the players.

---

Q6. Do you feel that Free Fire has gained significant popularity with PUBG Mobile's ban in the country?

Tau - Those who used to play PUBG Mobile obviously got to know about Free Fire, another battle royale game, and they even tried it out. Some appreciated it, while others criticized it. At the end of the day, people will only play what they like.

But there is one sure thing that after the ban of PUBG Mobile, there has been growth in Free Fire's audience. Things never used to be the same in Free Fire, and we can see growth in all aspects of the game.

PUBG Mobile was definitely the strongest competition for Free Fire, but right now, its return is doubtful. Let's see what happens in the future.

---

Q7. What do you think are the significant differences between the PUBG Mobile and Free Fire competitive scenarios?

Tau - PUBG Mobile's competitive scene was far ahead of Free Fire before the ban. But now, Free Fire is growing a lot and is achieving huge milestones on official esports tournament live streams, so there is enormous scope.

PUBG Mobile's esports scene had grown significantly in one year, whereas Free Fire took around two years, and now, I think it is at a good pace and is evergrowing.

Q8. What do you think are the major differences between the PUBG Mobile and Free Fire creators?

Tau - Talking about both games' creators, in Free Fire, many of them have good numbers on their socials but don't have good face values compared to the creators of PUBG Mobile.

Every creator in PUBG Mobile has their individual presence and face value but not in Free Fire as of now.

Q9. Do you have any favorite creators/esports players/organizations from the PUBG Mobile community?

Tau - Jonathan is my idol in the PUBG Mobile community because I can relate to him so well. During the early stages of his competitive career, he faced allegations that he was a hacker, but he later proved his abilities.

Speaking of the organization, it is S8UL because all of its members are very inspiring to me. The creators in the organization are very hardworking. They have gone through a lot of struggles in their previous gaming house and are finally in a new and larger one.

Mamba from S8UL is my favorite. The way he portrays himself and makes every other thing entertaining is what I love the most.

---

Q10: Do you follow or have interest in any of the Minecraft or GTA creators?

Tau - Mythpat and Triggered Insaan are the two creators I closely follow and admire. They are both hilarious in their videos, especially Mythpat.

---

Q11. Are you looking to explore PC games like Valorant, GTA, Minecraft, etc., soon?

Tau - No, I don't have a focus on PC games currently; I do play a bit of Valorant for fun off stream. I will only play for the audience when I gain a certain level of perfection towards the new PC games, and I also have to like them.

---

Q12. Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

Tau - Many people say that mobile games' future is uncertain, and considering this, we should always have a backup. But, in the next two years, my main goal is to prove myself in competitive gaming.

Right now, I am in XO Space, the gaming house of Esports XO. Many new creators are joining the organization and are creating good content daily under one roof.

Most creators in the Free Fire community are building their face values, along with social media following. Let's see how things unfold in the next five years.

We have the game today, but the future is always uncertain. A backup plan is a must. Being educated must be the top priority, and one should always do anything with utmost confidence and dedication while also enjoying the same.