Orangutan Esports has created a buzz in the South Asian Valorant scene by introducing their fantastic Male and Female rosters, which made a significant impact in the SEA Valorant. Orangutan Esports is just a year-old organization, but they are building a tremendous fan base and growing exponentially. Orangutan Esports also made some headlines as they signed players from Korea, Pakistan, and the Philippines and even managed to fly two of the players to their Bootcamp in India.
Being a team that was formed a month before the SCS 2022, Orangutan Esports won the regional qualifiers without losing even a single map. Even during the Group Stages of SCS 2022, they managed to win four out of five matches, beating the giants like Global Esports and Enigma Gaming.
Recently, I got an amazing opportunity to chat with the Orangutan Male Valorant roster and with Vinay ‘Hades’ Rao, Head of Esports at Orangutan Esports at VALORANT Skyesports Champions Series 2022.
Interview with Hades and Organgutan’s VALORANT Roster
During the discussion, I got a lot of insights regarding their daily practices, thought process while playing, how the team was formed and what it takes to keep a vast organization intact and together. Here is the complete interview we had with Hades and the VALORANT roster of Orangutan Esports:
Hades, we all know that you were the one who brought the Orangutan’s Rosters together; I would rather say the mastermind behind the OG’s Rosters. What was your thought process for scouting the players and making the ‘Perfect’ roster?
Vinay ‘Hades’ Rao – Any lineup which I scouted players for, the one thing that I kept in mind was who is the best contender for me in Valorant were Global Esports and Velocity Gaming. I saw what they do to become the best and what their flaws are, so accordingly, I scouted the players.
For example, for Global Esports, SK Rossi is their star player; therefore, to beat them, I need someone who is as good as him or better than him. It is as simple as who is my competitor, what their flaws are, and what I can do to capitalize on them.
Orangutan Esports is an organization that started a few months back and still, in a short period, gathered so many fans for Free Fire, BGMI, and Valorant rosters. And you being an ex-PUBG PC pro, ex-BGMI coach, and now switching into Valorant, how has the journey been for you?
Vinay ‘Hades’ Rao – The journey for me has been like a positive graph, where I just want to keep going up and up. Being an ex-PUBG PC pro, I knew how will the audience react, and I’ve been dealing with a lot of players throughout my career, which helped me a lot to understand what players want, and I try my best to fulfill all those facilities that they deserve.
And all the attractions that the organization is receiving from the fans, and as an organization, we want to deliver the expectations that the fans have from us.
How do you manage your team practice without Shooter in the Bootcamp?
Prabhdeep ‘Ghost’ Bhatia – It’s pretty normal; even when we didn’t stay at the Bootcamp, we used to schedule our scrims and practice sessions. We still do the same when Shooter is not here; he manages his schedule accordingly.
Vibhor, how did you manage to gel up with the team in such a little time while transitioning to a prominent role in the team, i.e., the IGL?
Vibhor ‘Vibhor’ Vaid – I thought the transition would be hard, switching from VLT to Orangutan. But everybody in the organization has been very supportive to me, and they are providing me with whatever I want.
All the players are pretty smart individually; I don’t have to tell a lot of things to them in-game; they understand their job and fulfill it accordingly. Players being smart has helped me a lot, and that’s the reason the transition has been so smooth.
My next question is for Tesseract and Persia. You guys are here in India now; what’s the most exciting thing you found about India? Is it the culture, food, or something else you might have come across while being here?
Jon Michael ‘Tesseract’ Piga – I think the food here is not similar to other regions like Korea or the Philippines, the rice here is not the same as ours, but right now, I think I have adjusted a lot and trying to adapt to this place. I’m thinking, like, What the F*ck! This is good, and I’m starting to like it here. Although the weather here is bad, overall I’m enjoying it.
What about you, Persia?
Yang ‘Persia’ Zi-on – The same thing, hahaha. The food which I enjoyed was Chicken Curry.
As soon as your Valorant female roster qualified for the VCT Game Changers, you guys managed to set up a Bootcamp in Singapore and secure visas for the players from India, Pakistan, and the Philippines in a short time. What was the process like? As we know, it’s not an easy task.
Vinay ‘Hades’ Rao – As soon as we picked the lineup, we knew this is a damaging lineup because we took down Asteria and the other top dogs from the region. Therefore I knew this is a promising lineup and for players to perform, we need to provide better facilities, whether be the ping, internet, or the FPS.
To meet all of these criteria, Singapore was the best option we can provide these guys, better than India. Initially, we had plans for setting up the Boot camp in Chennai, but I didn’t the giving these girls the facility in Chennai would have been that effective compared to Singapore, where players can have much more exposure to all the players.
I wanted them to experience the APAC region as well. Most of the teams are based in Singapore, and I wanted them to meet, gel up and hang out together. Therefore in the backend, we already had the visa, BootCamp, and everything on the process, and as soon as we qualified, we flew to Singapore to play the playoffs from there.
All of you guys are from different regions, so how do you manage to communicate in-game, whether it is about giving any information or the shot callings?
Vibhor ‘Vibhor’ Vaid – Currently, we communicate in English mostly right now. Persia’s English is a little weak, which creates a slight issue, but he is learning every day. I have seen a massive improvement in his English, which is a plus point for us, and with time his English will become more fluent.
Even when Me, Ghost, and Shooter are playing or pushing one side together, we communicate in Hindi and play our game, and these guys adapt accordingly. That’s what the team comms feels like.
If we talk about Shooter, he is from Pakistan, and there are issues regarding the visa; currently, what is the status, and how is the process going on? Can we expect Shooter here in India with the team in the Boot Camp soon?
Vinay ‘Hades’ Rao – So Shooter’s mother is Indian, and during his childhood days, he has visited India multiple times as well. So I don’t think there are many issues compared to other Pakistani players, and since he is a professional athlete, the government sees him as a guest, and I think the visa process might be done as soon as possible.
Make sure to follow Desk Gamers for the latest news, guides, and more related to the Gaming and Esports industry.
