Former CS:GO professional Sean Gares attributes his newfound love of VALORANT to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was during the lockdown when he first decided to give Riot’s tactical shooter a shot, and then everything changed.
“I just felt uncomfortable going into the studio because it was the start of COVID,” Gares said. “So I was like, ‘You guys, like I’m not coming into the studio anymore to do Flashpoint. I’ll do remote stuff if necessary.’ I happened to play VALORANT like on the last day of alpha, and I was like, ‘This game is the truth. This is the future.'”
He has since started live-streamed himself playing VALORANT, begun competing in content creator tournaments, and has now fully established himself as a staple part of Riot’s official broadcasts.
“I just made a huge risk,” said Gares, “and I just was like, ‘You know what, I’m just gonna start streaming VALORANT like full time and if stuff happens, it happens.’ I loved the tactical side of the game from the get-go. The idea of being able to combo abilities in addition to the FPS aspects like CS. I just fell in love, and I don’t think any of that has changed. I’m still equally as amazed when I see some kind of play that a team runs where like four people throw utility at like perfect timings and then some guy’s able to capitalize by hitting like three flick headshots. It’s just so cool. It’s so different from like a CS player perspective, and that’s what really drew me in. I’m still right where I was from the get-go. I love seeing that kind of stuff.”
Now, with Riot announcing its plans to turn VALORANT into a “multigenerational sport in 2023 and beyond,” Gares sees big things in the future for the game and its community.
“In three years, we’re gonna look back at today and be like, ‘Wow, the game was so small back then.’ Especially when the China scene gets developed. All of those areas that weren’t available really in Counter-Strike early on are now up for grabs in VALORANT. And they’re like getting in on the ground floor and they’re also good. Their teams seem to be thriving and getting better at every tournament. Like Zeta Division coming up big. DRX coming up big lately. There’s just so many teams, like, from the entire Asian region, that are playing really well. The Turkish scene’s insane, there’s a big scene in Australia already. It’s everywhere. The game is everywhere. And I think, because we’re still early on in the game’s lifespan, [in] three years, the game is definitely gonna be bigger. It would take something like so crazy, I feel like for VALORANT to shrink in three years. So I would bet the house that it’s bigger in three years than it is today.”
(All information was provided by DBLTAP)
0 comments on “Sean Gares Talks VALORANT Esports”