"Right time to invest in young talents": GE Valorant star SK Rossi urges SA organizations to invest in the shooter's regional growth

South Asian PC esports has grown significantly since the release of Valorant in 2020. When the CS: GO competitive scene was dying in the region, players found a new ray of hope around the Riot Games shooter. Many former CS: GO professionals in the region switched to the game, which attracted many fans, investors, organizations, and more into it. Within a few years, South Asia had established itself as one of the major regions in the APAC Valorant circuit.

However, the region is once again staring at the bleak pre-Valorant days after the announcement of a new franchise league system in the game next year. As things stand, Global Esports is expected to be playing in the APAC franchise league and will be the only team from South Asia to play in the league. This has been a worrisome issue for the other teams and organizations in the country.

Global Esports' star Ganesh "SK Rossi" Gangadhar recently pointed to the issue in his recent Twitter post and urged all esports organizations in the region to come forward and invest in the growth of young talent. Rossi believes this will help the esports eco-system in the region and help it grow further in the coming years.

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SK Rossi believes young Valorant players need more experience against T1 teams to improve

Indian teams like Global Esports, Velocity Gaming and Enigma Gaming have represented the region several times on the international stage and made everyone proud with their excellent performances.

However, Riot recently announced the franchise league system in Valorant esports from next year. League players will have good salaries, bootcamps, infrastructure, and more facilities. Players will not be playing against their own region but other countries in APAC from now on.

Many believe it can stifle or even curtail the growth of the minor regions, and South Asia is surely one of them. The lack of investment, opportunities, and guidance can hamper the growth of esports in the region.

However, SK Rossi recently spoke about the issue and urged all organizations to continue with their work. He asked them to invest more money in young talent and the eco-system to provide them with a better future in gaming. He said:

"Right time for organizations in SA to invest in young talents in our country. Yes, [in the] short term, you won't get results, but the future will be better and all they demand is opportunity to play with the best, [along with] guidance and experience, not high salary or bootcamp."

He also opined that youngsters need to play against T1 Valorant teams more to improve themselves, saying:

"Young players in our country should experience playing T1 tournaments/scrims, playing with and against T1 teams at the youngest age possible, which will help them compete globally at a young age and gain experience so they learn and have a better chance at getting results."

He also pointed out that most players in other countries are much younger than the South Asian players, and how this shows the excellent eco-system of those countries. SK Rossi believes South Asia needs something similar to compete globally.

Enigma Gaming's Sabyasachi "Antidote" Bose also supported SK Rossi's statement. Going ahead, it will be interesting to see how organizations across the region respond to this matter.