Last week, the BGMI Masters Series (BGMS) season 3 concluded with iQOO Soul lifting the trophy after an incredible effort on the final day. During the Grand Finale, the team secured one Chicken Dinner each on the three days to ensure they always had momentum in their favor. This is the second time the coach and some of the players within this team have won BGMS. In this exclusive interview with the players, the coach and the analyst for the team discuss their journey from BGMS season one up to reclaiming the throne during season 3 of BGMS.
During BMPS 2024, the team and you were announced champions. After that, you all joined Soul Esports, and this is your first championship. How does it feel for you?
Mayavi: See, we are seven people in number. Everybody has their role. Each one of us just tries to justify the role, be it the IGL, the coach, or the assaulter. So, we are here just to justify the role and think we are good at it. That’s why we are in one of the biggest organizations in India, and that is something that keeps us motivated and disciplined, which keeps the team always near the podium, and we’ll try to keep it going forward.
You are in one of the most prominent organizations in India, iQOO Soul. How does this feel now? Going from Blind Esports to Soul, has the pressure been increasing with time for you to win a trophy?
Mayavi: This lineup was formed three years ago. The initial journey was really tough because we received a lot of hate during the early phase of the team’s construction. The pressure was intense from the start. Thus, being a part of the most prominent organization hasn’t been like a drastic change in the amount of pressure we face on a daily basis. From that time, we have forgotten we don’t have the pressure word in our dictionary, so we are confident in everything we do, and the pressure does not exist for us. And now we are the champions of the BGMS.
The next event in your calendar is BMPS. This team is the reigning champion of that event. With the duration of BMPS and BGMS being similar, has this tournament acted as a form of warm-up?
Mayavi: As the team’s coach, I don’t think this tournament was a warm-up for BMPS. The format of the tournament just doesn’t match that of BGMI Pro Series. In the whole tournament, we had the power play, the Bounty, and the Impact, which is nowhere similar to BMPS. So, BMPS will be a completely different story.
But yes, this tournament can be seen as a form of warm-up concerning aim and utility usage, confidence, and momentum. But yes, we are also the defending champions of BMPS and look forward to picking it up.
Nakul, you were part of the roster that won BGMS Season 1, and now you have won its third season. Do you feel any change in your emotions following this win?
Nakul: There isn’t much of a difference in emotions, but yes, it does feel good to be the champion of this event for two seasons. This time, we were a lot more confident and aggressive when we played it. Last time, we didn’t take a lot of duels, but this time, we dominated the lobby.
Rony: I honestly feel pretty jubilant after winning this tournament. What is there to say? During season 1, we came in as the underdogs. No one knew us, and there wasn’t much support or fans to motivate us. This time, being a part of iQOO Soul, we were one of the fan favorites, so winning a trophy in this manner does make me feel good as well.
I had faith in my team and myself that the trophy would come to us. Repeating what we did during season 1 and lifting the trophy again felt like a life-coming back full circle moment.
Joker: During that time when we won the first time, there were quite a few allegations against us because we were a group of unknown kids. In Season 1, winning that trophy was vital for us to prove that we had the skills to make it to the top and play on our merit.
From the bottom of my heart, I feel amazing. After a while, I was given a chance to be on the playing four of the team, and I wanted to make the most of the opportunity, and I did. I have proved to my team that I can perform in high-pressure situations, and I have also increased the fan base’s trust in my skills.
The last time we spoke was during the BMPS Grand Finals. You are on the iQOO Soul roster and have just won your first trophy. Do you feel like a weight has lifted off your shoulders?
Nakul: There wasn’t any pressure, but yes, I really wanted to bring home a trophy for IQOOSOUL. Now that I have given it, I want to win more for this organization.
We all know that BGMS lasted for over three weeks. Now, you will be taking part in the BMPS, which will take place over five weeks. Do you feel some sort of fatigue, or do you feel that this event has helped build that endurance?
Nakul: Each player has a mindset to get to the top. To do that, you will need to practice all day. It is just that you need to keep playing the game daily. This event has helped us in various ways other than conditioning. I am only looking forward to and hoping to win BMPS again.
This team has been together for over three years. This is not common in BGMI Esports, let alone any other esport in the world. What could be some of the factors that caused this to occur?
Rony: In my opinion, our team’s bond outside the game is really respected and strong. We treat each other like brothers, some of them are like elder brothers such as the coach and analyst and the younger players are our little brothers. The coach has made sure that we have that tight-knit family vibe within our roster.
Since 2023, we have met each other during each BGMI tournament. Normally, you are the fifth player and get to play some of the tournament matches for iQOO Soul. This time, we have seen you play from the start as well as during the three days of the Grand Finale. As a human, what emotions has this made you feel?
Joker: I was really happy to play so many games during this event for iQOO Soul. The team gave me an opportunity to showcase my skills, and I’ve been able to do so. My main goal this time is to grab every opportunity, fulfill any expectations my coach has for me, and make sure that I have a fixed spot in the playing lineup.
The true fans and supporters of our team know about my talent. There hasn’t been a day when I haven’t received messages from our fan base just to motivate me to get better. I must state that in the last few weeks, I have also seen some people who spread hate against the team now convert to be our fans because of our skill and personality.
The format of this BGMI tournament was quite different from that of other BGMI events that have taken place. What was the thought process when you started your analysis for this event?
Ayogi: Firstly, if I had to speak as an analyst for iQOO Soul, BGMS was quite tricky for us as a team to analyze. This was due to the format of the tournament and the various rules that increased the randomness factor within this tournament. It made the lobby much more unpredictable than the regular matches we played. Due to the bounty rule, the power play, and the impact player rule, many teams also changed their playstyle.
Thus, our main goal during this event was to understand the drop locations and tendencies of each team and prepare accordingly. Teams this time had multiple drop locations, so we had to make sure our fundamentals and mindset were strong enough, as that was the only thing that we could control during the event.
You have been with this team for over a year now, and this would be the third trophy that you have won with this roster. How does it feel that, with multiple changes to the meta, you have been able to adapt to the changes and still be one of the most consistent teams in BGMI?
Ayogi: To be honest, it does feel good that we are one of the highest-ranking teams in India. But yes, to stay on top, there is a lot more hard work that goes into it. For me, this just proves that if we want to stay on top like we have been, we have to keep increasing the amount of effort we put in.
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