Thanks to Skyesports Masters and various other events lined up, it looks like the Indian Counter-Strike is here to stay. With Valorant being launched in 2020, a lot of professional players made the transition to the game, leaving CS. Only a few loyal players kept grinding the game to finally get the recognition they deserve, and one of them is Parijat 'reV3nnnn' Banerjee.
We managed to get an exclusive interview with "reV3nnnn", one of the best snipers in the scene currently, who has recently joined Gods Reign as their primary awper. He is also known for being one of the top Faceit Players in CS:GO as he was ranked in the top 10 in the SEA Region.
Also read: Cypher Tips And Tricks By RvK: Exclusive Interview
"I feel that we will make the top 4 easily": reV3nnnn on Gods Reign's chances at Skyesports Masters
Q. Tell us something about yourself, and how did you start gaming?
reV3nnnn: Hi, my name is Parijat Banerjee and I'm from Durgapur, West Bengal. I come from an ordinary middle-class family, and I'm an average 24-year-old Bengali guy. In my family, I've got a younger sister, parents, a grandmother, and my 7 cute kids (my dogs).
I started PC gaming when I was 5 years old. I used to play a lot of Call of Duty 4 and 6 events from 2013 to 2017. I even played Dota 2 for a couple years. I got to know about CSGO back in 2019. I played CS:GO for 2 months, got bored and left it before returning to the Dota 2 grind. I used to watch Tier-1 Dota 2 matches a lot, but after some time, I got to know that there were many CS:GO events around the world.
After that I decided to play CSGO passionately and do something with it. I played a lot of matchmaking games solo because I had no teammates/friends at that time to grind the ranks with. After playing for a long time and learning about the game, its mechanics, and everything else, I decided to fully dedicate my time and focus to CS and break into the esports scene. But for that, I had to play a lot of tournament matches and get exposure. So, I started attending LAN/online events with random teams, lost a lot, won a few, and gathered a lot of memories with them.
Q. CS was particularly dead in India in the last few years. What kept you motivated to not switch to Valorant like other pros?
reV3nnnn: As I've said before, I gave my complete attention and dedication to CS:GO and I was loyal and passionate towards this game. I never thought of switching to any other FPS game because I was in love with CS:GO and had a clear vision of my future in it. If I am destined to become a distinguished esports athlete, it will either be in this game, or it won't happen at all.
Q. What phase, by far, would you say was the hardest in your career?
reV3nnnn: Well, the hardest part of my career was from 2021 to 2022. Valorant came to India in 2020 and CS:GO events were not taking plac. Every ex-CS professional had already switched to Valorant, leaving the scene barren of talent as well. Because of that, there were no viewers in CS:GO. However, I never gave up and continued my grind till the end, because I hoped that one day CS would rise again and people would love to watch it again.
Q. How do you feel about your chances of winning the Skyesports Masters and what do you think about major CS:GO LANs being back in the industry?
reV3nnnn: Well, first of all, I would like to give a huge thanks to Skyesports and Shiva Nandy for bringing this opportunity to every CS lover and giving them a chance to make a career through it. Coming back to how I feel about the League, we really don't care who our opponent is or how they will play against us. We just play our game and try to give our best. We don't think about results or anything else while playing on the server; we try to enjoy the moment, and that's it.
I feel that we will make the top-4 easily. And about winning the Skyesports League, I can't say anything now because I like to work step by step. Only we can defeat ourselves; no one else can. I'm a little disappointed that 50 days of LAN are not happening because I love to play LAN instead of Online, but I believe everything happens for a good reason.
I'm so happy that LANs are coming back to India, especially for CS:GO, and I'm pretty excited to play in front of an audience. Bangalore is a good city to live in because of the lovely weather and playing a LAN at Bangalore would be very fun and exciting for me. Let's see what happens.
Q. Since your team has an all-Indian roster, do you think that gives you an advantage or disadvantage when playing against imported players on other teams? How does it feel to be picked up by a prestigious organization like God's Reign?
reV3nnnn: Well, I don't think we have any disadvantages playing against "imported players." I feel we are pretty confident and trust each other, so whoever plays against us on the server won't have an easy time. If we play good CS, no matter what, whoever they are, or wherever they came from, we will have the upper hand.
I feel blessed because there are organizations for CS:GO that give us a chance to do something in the esports scene, and I’m proud of myself that my grind made me so capable for this opportunity. I would like to thank Gods Reign for trusting me and providing the best facilities for us to succeed.
Q. Tell us about the funniest moment in your esports career.
reV3nnnn: We got disqualified once from an event because there was no webcam. That was the funniest moment in my esports career so far.
Q. What is your daily warmup/practice routine? How would you describe your playing style?
reV3nnnn: I don’t follow any extra routines or warmups; I just play Faceit PUGs daily, and I give myself 9–10 hours daily for gaming. My role is sniping, and I’m a hybrid Player, which means I play both aggressive and defensive styles combined.
Q. And lastly, what is some advice you'd give to the upcoming wave of CSGO/CS2 players that you wish someone gave you before you started your esports journey?
reV3nnnn: I wish someone had told me earlier about this game because I was very late to the scene. I don't want that to happen to anyone else in the upcoming CS2 wave. I would like to help upcoming players, which is why I stream CSGO on a daily basis, not just to show my game, but also to encourage them through it.
