Exclusive || Commonwealth Esports Championship 2022 will bring more credible stakeholders to esports: Moin Ejaz, Team India Dota 2 captain

The inaugural edition of Commonwealth Esports Championships will be nothing less than a treat for gamers. After all, years of waiting is coming to an end for all the gamers who were craving for recognition of their trade at such a global event. The marquee tournament will be held between August 6th and 8th at Birmingham, UK. Two Indian teams, Dota 2 and Rocket league, have qualified for the Commonwealth Esports Championship 2022.

Both the teams delivered marvellous performances at the virtual qualifier matches played at the South Asian regional qualifiers. While Rocket League topped the charts by beating Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka, Dota 2, which consists of five players (Moin Ejaz, Ketan Goyal, Abhishek Yadav, Shubham Goli, and Vishal Vernekar) came second in the qualifiers after winning both the matches against Sri Lanka and one round each against Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The two-day commonwealth esports championship is the pilot esports event and will be held at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Birmingham, UK. The Quotes got in touch with the leader of the pack who will lead team India Dota 2 at the Commonwealth Esports Championship, 2022.

Q] Congratulations for being part of the Indian contingent in E-Sports at Commonwealth. DOTA 2 were impressive recently in the regional qualifiers. Kindly let our readers understand how it feels to lead the pack in such a highly-competitive tournament and be the flagbearer of the country?

Answer: I feel proud and excited for our participation in the Commonwealth. But, being the captain of the team, I feel responsible and have accountability to everyone who is vouching for us. We want to come first and it will be tough to accept anything less than that. We are heavily banking on our recent performance, and are confident of making the nation proud.

Q] You guys won four out of six games in the South Asian regional qualifiers. You guys were second behind Pakistan. How’s the preparation going on since then for the Commonwealth?

Answer: The schedule is extremely busy as we spent most of our time discussing the game and practising. We are a five-member team which helps us in discussing various aspects, and play the game most of the time. I also spend a lot of time practising alone, and expect to come out winning in the tournament.

Q] How do you evaluate the inclusion of Esports in the Commonwealth? What are your expectations from the game in terms of improving the stature of esports in the world and India?

Answer: We always wanted to compete in an event of such magnitude. The whole world will keep an eye on us, and we are extremely excited to make a mark. We believe tournaments like the Commonwealth Esports Championship, and upcoming Asiad Games will enhance the status of esports. We want the government to promote esports more as there are so many youngsters who spend so much time playing games. India has enormous possibilities in esports, but needs proper guidance and awareness.

Q] What is the role of the E Sports Federation of India (ESFI)?

Answer: ESFI has been very helpful. They are taking care of all our travel expenses, accommodation and coaching, as well. I believe esports under the guidance of ESFI will surely benefit the sports in the country and in the future, we will witness more active involvement of the body.

Q] After having rich experience in playing esports and representing the country in various prestigious tournaments, what would be your advice to someone who is looking to get into esports professionally?

Answer: Esports has a huge potential in our country. I am confident that the future of the sport is extremely bright as fresh talents will come to the fore. I would like to suggest the aspirants to focus on their technicalities and strengthen their tactical abilities. It will play a significant role in their performances that is required at international levels.