Image courtesy: win.gg
Valorant continues to attract the best esports teams. The latest is none other than G2 Esports led by former League of Legends player Carlos "Ocelote" Rodriguez. They have just recruited one of CS:GO's former top players who has recently switched to Valorant. This is of course Oscar "mixwell" Cañellas Colocho, a member of the winning team at the Twitch Rivals tournament organised for the official release.
In line with the Valorant Ignition Series and in partnership with Red Bull, G2 is also organising an Invitational tournament this weekend with the eight best European teams.
In an interview with Forbes, Ocelote clarified his strategy for the new Riot Games FPS.
Why did you decided to invest in Valorant so early in its life?
Carlos Rodriguez: Valorant is a top title and it merges some of the things that make games appealing to play and watch, just like League of Legends accomplished. G2 Esports is meant to lay the foundation of what esports is going to become in the future. This is our role in the industry and this move plays into that role really well, as we hope to inspire other organizations to pick up strong teams and build a fun, competitive landscape together. This is a high risk, high reward initiative and we couldn’t be happier to be spearheading efforts for Riot Games.
Why did you decide to pick up Mixwell for the team, and do you have the rest of the roster in mind already?
CR: We are building a world championship-winning team and it starts with Mixwell. He is a former CS:GO pro and one of the best players of all time. When it comes to Valorant, he is also one of the best players having recently won the biggest event in Valorant history - Twitch Rivals. We definitely have our sights set on additional players and we are excited to share more about our roster in the coming weeks.
Why have you decided to host a tournament for Valorant, especially one so early in the competitive scene's life?
CR: We intend to play an important role in building a relevant, interesting, and appealing competitive system in this absolutely great title. By hosting a tournament for Valorant, it feeds into the broader goal to help make Valorant a top esports title.
Are you aiming to make a profit from the tournament or are there other goals for this event?
CR: The main objective of putting these tournaments together is to bring Valorant to everybody’s attention, and I think we’re doing a pretty good job so far. Building tournaments is also an amazing way of giving players that haven’t been all that fortunate in the past a chance to prove themselves. On top of everything else, building these types of tournaments makes our partners very happy and it underlines why investing in G2 is one of the best decisions a brand that intends to become relevant in video games can make.
What are your thoughts on the Ignition Series of events, is this the right first step for Valorant esports?
CR: Riot Games is probably going to use these tournaments as training wheels for what the future of Valorant competitive is going to look like, and we are beyond honored that Riot chose us to spearhead these efforts.
Interview courtesy: Mike Stubbs
G2 Esports Invitational was an opportunity to see the full competitive potential of Valorant. That first stage of the Valorant Ignition Series 2020 saw Mixwell and his team win the tournament and the $11,210 cash prize.
