Amit "fa2" Thakur talks about his career as a streamer at Valorant Red Bull Campus Clutch Finals (Exclusive)

The much anticipated Valorant Red Bull Campus Clutch Finals were held on October 2, 2023, in Pune, India. Bringing in the most prestigious and talented players the country has to offer, the best team would proceed to represent the country in the upcoming international tournament, which will be held in Istanbul, Turkey.

The event was presided over by some of the most popular Valorant content creators in India, and Amit "fa2'' Thakur was one of them. Sportskeeda Esports got an exclusive opportunity to interview fa2 and have an open conversation about the positives and negatives of streaming, India's continuously growing esports culture, Red Bull's initiative at popularising esports in the country, and so on.

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fa2 discusses the rapidly growing esports culture in India, streaming as a career, Valorant, and more

Q. Streaming and esports competitions are a niche workplace, only 1% of the population thrives in it. Its glorified display often has left people misguided. Do you feel it's tiring interacting with your audience throughout the day?

fa2: Initially, when I began my career as a Valorant streamer, it was quite tiring for me to sit in front of the screen and consistently communicate with my audience. However, now, as I have become more experienced and more used to it, it's not at all tiring. This is my job, and I do it with all my heart and passion.

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Q. The consistent news updates on teens naturally getting addicted to video games have been on the rise, and there have been extreme outcomes in many cases. What are your thoughts on that, and how do we prevent this?

fa2: I think this revolves more around children and teens playing games on mobile devices. While gaming might be a healthy habit and a great hobby, parents must keep a close check on how their kids spend their time on these devices and take the necessary steps to keep it in check, provided their kids are not old enough to make the right judgment call.

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Q. How do you feel about the minimal representation India gets in the esports scene? What do you feel would be some easy initiatives our country could take to get proper representation across international borders?

fa2: Valorant, and the gaming scene in general, in India is growing. While it might lack proper representation right now, with time, the esports culture in our country will definitely find its place at the international level.

The government should also take a few steps to fast-track that process. They should host events bringing in young talents and also allow international brands to host different tournaments in our country, be it for CS:GO, Valorant, DOTA, or any other popular esports. This would definitely provide the country with a much-needed boost to promote the culture.

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Q. As the esports genre has slowly grown rapidly in the last decade, do you think deserving players should have the opportunity to continue with their education via an esports quota, much like the sports quota we have in universities?

fa2: I think I have heard about foreign universities offering a separate 'Gaming' subject and often a quota for esports, which is a fantastic initiative. I think a similar kind of approach should be taken by our universities as well.

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Q. Red Bull has done a phenomenal job of promoting esports at the grassroots level. Do you think other organizations should take this example and try out their own rendition of the Campus Clutch series to promote gaming within the country, if not at the international level?

fa2: Red Bull has done a phenomenal job of hosting multiple events, both for CS:GO and Valorant, promoting the esports culture in the country. It has brought forth extremely talented individuals and teams from different corners of the country.

As for other organizations, since the country's esports scene is still growing, I believe they think there is no profit to be made by hosting events in our country as such.