Currently playing for Enigma Gaming, Tejas “Rexy” Kotian is a former Counter Strike: Global Offensive player who currently plays Valorant. Having previously represented the likes of Noble India, XTZ Esports, Samurai Esports and Godlike Esports, the Indian esports athlete has enjoyed a successful career so far, winning a number of tournaments and is now aiming to represent the country internationally.
In this exclusive interview, Tejas “Rexy” Kotian speaks about his journey so far, memorable achievements, experiences at various teams, advice to aspiring esports players, training regime, overcoming challenges and future goals.
Q 1) How did your journey in esports begin? What made you stop playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive?
My journey in Esports was completely random and I never intended to enter into professional gaming when I started playing. I started off with local cafe and college tournaments with my cafe friends and through this I got my biggest break. There was this one small cafe tournament which we won by defeating the best team in India at that time and this made me realise that I am pretty good at this game and can give a tough fight to the highest level of teams.
I had played Counter Strike Global Offensive professionally for 3 years. I loved and enjoyed playing CS:GO but it did not have that much of an audience and there was only a limited amount of money which one could make out of the game. There were only a couple of organisations at that time for CS:GO which made it very hard for an underdog team to get comfortable and give their 100%. At one point there was no return from playing the game and I just decided it is not worth playing it anymore. I decided to quit CS:GO altogether and try something else in my life. It was lucky that Valorant was released a month later after my retirement from CS:GO.
Q 2) You came first in three different tournaments last year, which one has been the most memorable achievement in your career and why?
As a new team I am happy with the results we had in the start. I think the most memorable achievement would be the PENTA Tournament. We defeated Team XO which was one of the best teams in India at that time. We were 0-2 down in the bo5 finals. Even though we were down our mindset and mentality was never low and negative and we managed to win that series 3-2. It was not a very big tournament but the mindset we had as a team was very nice and it is very hard to keep that mindset in a bo5 and that too in finals.
Q 3) You have previously played at Noble India, XTZ Esports, Samurai Esports and Godlike Esports in the past. How was your experience at those teams compared to Enigma Gaming?
Apart from Godlike Esports I have had very bad experiences with all these previous organisations. Every organisation had bad elements which led to me/players being unhappy. I don't have to say much about what was wrong with them as some of the stories are already out in the community. Godlike Esports was a very good organisation with a very helpful and kind management team but unluckily it didn't work out between the players. Compared to these organisations, I’m very happy with Enigma Gaming as the management is very helpful and the players here have the same mindset when it comes to playing and being there for each other. Enigma Gaming has a plan with which they are looking forward to going with which will help the players to stay in the long run.
Q 4) What is your training regime? What would be your advice to aspiring esports players in India?
My training regime is pretty simple. I just dedicate 1 hour of my day to aim. I do 3 deathmatches for 30 mins and 30mins of range. Aim routine is very important to keep your muscle memory up to date. I feel one should make their own aim routine instead of copying any other player. Aim routine is different for different players and you should make one which is suitable for your muscle memory.
The main point that I would say to aspiring Esports players in India would be to never quit and to keep on playing all the tournaments. The results don't matter at the early stages of your career, only experience does. Once you showcase your skills in front of the audience and you are good enough then you will get an opportunity one day. You just have to be patient and be ready when that day comes.
Q 5) What are some of the challenges you have faced in your journey? How did you overcome them?
The main challenge I faced in my journey was the support of my parents when it came to playing video games. They still don't support me and want me to get a real job or go for my further studies. Proving them that I can take care of myself with gaming was the toughest thing. They gave me a year to prove myself in the gaming industry after I completed my Engineering, and only when I started earning on a monthly basis did they agree to give me more time as I practically started living on my own and was not dependent on my parents anymore.
Q 6) What are your future goals? How are you planning to achieve them?
One of my goals is to represent India on an international level. We had worked extremely hard in the last VCC but we failed to deliver when it mattered the most. We used to practise 12 hours a day with all the scrims, theory and individual grind. We have 2 more VCC coming up this year and we are going to practise much harder and we will bounce back stronger. We know we have that winning team and very positive mindset, we just have to showcase it. I personally would be grinding much more and creating many more plays which will make the opponents uncomfortable.
Also read: My goal is to make India an international force in combat sports
