FaZe Clan sails past BIG to open their IEM Cologne 2025 campaign, marking its first event since the player break and with broky back on the roster after being on the bench.
BIG’s pistol win went in vain as FaZe picked up the first gun round, levelling the scoreline and edging out into a lead. BIG did manage to make it competitive, winning 4 rounds on their offence, but the FaZe defence had a read and capitalised on it, leading to an 8-4 half.
BIG did manage to cut the lead short, winning the pistol and subsequent rounds on the defence, but FaZe got back to winning ways with the first gun round. Winning the first gun round, FaZe put up a streak of rounds, closing out the map with a dominant scoreline.
Having been under the crosshairs of the critiques, frozeN dropping 23 kills is a testament to his prowess and proves why FaZe has chosen to retain him post Major.
Map 2: Ancient; Pick: FaZe; Winner: FaZe
Getting on the board after converting a force buy, FaZe remained largely dominant on the offensive side of Ancient, leading to BIG going on the back foot right from the beginning. Winning 6 rounds in a row to close the half, FaZe swapped to the defence with a 9-3 lead.
Having the comfort zone, FaZe started to bleed rounds as BIG tried their level best to capitalise on it. Just as they found themselves 3 rounds away from levelling the scoreline, FaZe managed to close the series out, having largely remained dominant for the better part of the game.
With a rating of 1.32, broky announced his return with a banger performance against BIG as the Latvian laser looks just as sharp as he was in his prime.
Many assumed FaZe would retain s1mple, but bringing broky back from the bench was a questionable decision. While the dataset is limited to one game, broky looked solid against BIG, but replicating the same against the BIG names is ta ask of a tall order, and only time can tell if Karrigan can once again gel this team together.
When was the last time you opened up the patch notes for the latest Valorant update and were genuinely shocked by an Agent change? I’m not talking about a 0.15-second increase to a flash windup time or an ability cost being reduced by 100 Credits, but changes that you felt were significant enough to switch up the game’s meta. The last one that really comes to mind is the Phoenix rework, and even that feels like it happened ages ago.
Lately, it feels like Riot’s approach to Agent balancing has become increasingly “safe.” We’re seeing fewer and fewer bold reworks or tweaks that are impactful enough to completely shake the game’s meta. In fact, the Agent changes in most of the recent Valorant updates are little more than micro-adjustments to the abilities alongside an occasional tweak in the numbers. The result? A game that feels more stable and polished, yes, but also less exciting.
The patch notes for Valorant are starting to feel increasingly stale with each update, and the only real hype in the community now seems to come from the introduction of a new map or a new Agent.
This has led many avid Valorant players to raise the question: Has Riot become so afraid of altering the game’s competitive balance that they’ve stopped evolving it entirely?
Riot’s Balancing Track Record
Since the dawn of Valorant’s release, Riot’s balance methodology has always leaned towards the safer side. The devs have opted to deliver a slow but constant stream of Agent changes to the shooter, often backed by data and aiming to keep win rates hovering around the 50% mark.
Today, that sense of unpredictability seems to have died down significantly, replaced by a meta that feels a lot more rigid. Agent roles have become a lot more defined, the meta is stagnant, and each new patch release feels more like routine maintenance. There’s no doubt that in its current stage, the game is more balanced than ever, but it’s also starting to feel less alive than ever.
The Predictable Meta
Despite the constant flow of updates that Valorant has been receiving, the meta of the shooter has hardly seen a significant shift in years.
Agents like Jett, Omen, Sova, and Cypher continue to dominate the pro scene with consistently high pick rates, while others like Sage, Reyna, Brimstone, and Phoenix go nearly unpicked in every single event.
Omen had a 62% winrate in pro Valorant over the last 90 days. Source: TheSpike
While the meta in pubs is vastly different than that of the pro scene, there are still some select picks that dominate the competition while others are rarely picked across the ranks. I’ve lost count of how many times teammates have threatened to throw my games just because I locked in Sage in the Immortal bracket.
Riot’s “safe” approach to balancing Valorant has undeniably resulted in the game’s meta being predictable and stagnant without leaving much room for experimentation. The real question is whether the competitive stability is worth the cost of the game no longer feeling dynamic or losing its strategic depth.
Balancing the Fun Out
A cautious and data-driven approach to Agent balancing can also have an unintended side effect of taking the fun out of playing the game. We’ve seen multiple instances of this happening in the past with the release of certain Agents in an overpowered state, followed by patches that would remove their viability entirely.
Reyna used to have four charges on her Devour and Dismiss. Chamber used to have two teleport anchors, and Sage used to be able to raise her wall before the round even started. Riot quickly toned down all of these abilities. While the changes may have improved the overall game balance on paper, they also rendered these Agents almost irrelevant in pro play, as evident by each of their pick rates.
As per data from TheSpike, Reyna went completely unpicked during Valorant Masters Toronto 2025, while Sage and Chamber saw dismal pick rates of just around 5% and 3% respectively.
These examples should be enough to highlight the fact that whenever an Agent shows even a glimpse of being too strong, Riot is quick to roll back changes rather than finding a middle ground. The balance philosophy of Valorant seems to be the complete removal of any potential threats instead of refining them, which ultimately takes a toll on the game’s overall fun and discourages creative play.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
With 27 Agents being available to pick from, Valorant’s current character pool is nothing short of massive, and with the devs constantly adding new Agents every few months, it’s only expected to increase further. However, the newer Agents in Valorant have been feeling more and more like echoes of former releases. Instead of experimenting with game-changing mechanics and fresh design ideas, newer Agents often arrive with abilities that feel like slight variations or recycled versions of what we’ve already seen.
Not only does it take out the hype and excitement surrounding new Agent releases, but many of these Agents also end up being completely non-viable in the pro scene, which isn’t exactly healthy for the competitive integrity and long-term balance of the game. Competitive metas in any video game thrive when teams have real options to pick from instead of just a few default Agents that are must-picks every game.
Rather than urging teams to try out new team comps and strategies, the “safe” meta of Valorant rewards teams running the same lineup over and over again while optimizing their approach.
What Riot Could Do Instead
So, what can Riot Games actually do to address the constant stagnation of the Valorant meta?
If Valorant wants to keep its gameplay feeling fresh, Riot may need to look outside its own design bubble and take a page from the MOBA playbook. Granted, tactical shooters and MOBAs operate under vastly different design constraints, but as an avid Dota 2 player, I’ve seen how a game can thrive in imbalance.
In Dota, every new patch introduces overpowered hero synergies, makes an item or two completely broken, and adds mechanics that send the pros back to the drawing board. However, most importantly, the developers don’t always rush to fix it, but let the chaos unfold instead.
This kind of approach to game balance fuels creativity, constantly forces players to adapt, and makes every patch feel like a fresh challenge. This in turn leads to a more fun experience for casual and hardcore players alike, as fans can witness the meta living, dying, and reinventing itself in real time.
On the other hand, Valorant often feels a little “too polished,” with the developers constantly tweaking ability numbers in attempts to drag the Agent winrates as close to 50% as possible.
Instead of nerfing any hero that stands out in the roster, Riot could instead focus on providing counterplay options for Agents that are particularly strong in any given meta.
Verdict
Valorant is undoubtedly one of the biggest modern-day competitive FPS titles, and there are plenty of reasons for Riot to stick to a formula that’s working instead of trying out new stuff with an already established title.
However, a vast portion of the community also agrees that Valorant just doesn’t hit the same as it used to. The excitement surrounding new patches and Agent reveals has started to fade, and the stagnant meta has become a cause of frustration within the player base.
Competitive integrity is vital, but so is maintaining the bold identity that made Valorant stand out in the first place. Valorant’s next big leap likely won’t come from a new Agent, but from a paradigm shift on Riot’s approach to the game balance.
For a game like Valorant, which set itself apart in the FPS genre through its unique abilities and strategic depth, playing it safe might just be the riskiest move of all.
Keeping the energy high, KRAFTON India has launched yet another set of official BGMI redeem codes. This latest release is packed with 50 unique codes designed to unlock premium content and power-ups for players eager to elevate their Multiplayer Game experience. As excitement continues to grow, fans can look forward to even more engaging content with every release.
Redeem codes are valid until September 12, 2025, and will be released daily on BGMI’s official channels.
BGMI Redeem Codes for 23 July
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How to Redeem BGMI Codes
Players can follow these simple steps to claim their rewards:
Step 4: Enter the verification/ Captcha code → A message will confirm ‘Code redeemed successfully’
Step 5: The reward will be delivered via in-game mail
Rules to Remember:
A maximum of 10 users can redeem each code on a first-come, first-served basis
A user cannot redeem a code twice
Users must claim their rewards via in-game mail within 7 days, else the mail will expire
If a player is among the first 10 users to successfully redeem the code, a message will confirm ‘Code redeemed successfully’. If not, users will see ‘Code expired’ or a similar expiry message
Each user account can redeem only one code per day
Redeem codes cannot be used via guest accounts
Rewards to be claimed within 30 days from receiving the in-game mail post which the mail gets deleted.
Counter-Strike 2’s release in 2023 was guaranteed to transform competitive gaming through advanced technology and better player experiences. Yet, almost two years later, a large number of the competitive community still finds third-party solutions, such as FACEIT, more appealing than Valve’s built-in matchmaking system. This ongoing preference suggests deeper issues beyond surface-level complaints and raises questions about more fundamental structural issues in CS2‘s competitive scene.
The statistics are a stark illustration of how serious the problem is. Premier matchmaking has cheating rates of about 80% according to community reports, whereas FACEIT has an incredibly low 0.4% rate. This stark contrast is because FACEIT’s more intrusive kernel-level anti-cheat system has greater system access and is much better at catching advanced cheats.
Economic Barriers as Deterrents
FACEIT’s strategy goes beyond being technically superior to economic deterrence. Whereas CS2-compatible cheats may be available for as little as €5 a month, FACEIT-compatible cheats will cost more at approximately €100 per month and are constantly being patched, decreasing their effectiveness. This economic model, with FACEIT’s active manual banning system, makes cheating extremely costly and risky.
During the period May 2-5, 2024, Valve has banned around 1,500 Counter-Strike 2 accounts. However, this number is only a small percentage of cheating players according to the community. Players’ anger is at the point where coordinated boycott campaigns are running, with players referring to themselves as “hostages in our own game.”
Sub-Tick System Implementation Problems
Even after Valve introduced the groundbreaking sub-tick system aimed at removing the limitation of tick rates, the community keeps experiencing vast gameplay variations between CS2’s 64-tick servers and FACEIT’s normal 128-tick system. Professional players have especially criticized such differences.
KennyS, a former CS:GO pro, experienced significant differences playing on FACEIT servers: “I actually hit a flick that felt like a flick – Pistols are accurate – Sprays are possible.” Even former Polish pro TaZ commented on “a big difference on how you need to play on MM vs FaceIt,” pointing out that the theoretical benefits of sub-tick technology have not carried over into enhanced practical gameplay experiences.
Server Infrastructure and Stability
CS2’s official servers commonly experience performance problems that directly affect competitive games. Players constantly receive “slow server frame” notices, lag spikes, and unreliable hit registration, issues that are especially costly in a game where millisecond timing is the key to success or failure.
FACEIT’s dedicated server architecture has more stable performance between regions and time intervals. Though not entirely free of technical problems, FACEIT servers tend to uphold higher standards of stability, which helps to create a more stable competitive scene that professional players desire.
Performance Metric
CS2 Official
FACEIT
Tick Rate
64 sub-tick
128-tick traditional
Cheating Rate
~80%
~0.4% reported
Server Stability
Variable performance
Dedicated infrastructure
Anti-Cheat Type
VAC + VAC Live
Kernel-level + Manual review
Premier Mode’s Matchmaking Issues
CS2’s Premier mode, which was created as Valve’s response to third-party competitive platforms, is plagued by extreme ranking disparities that erode competitive integrity. The system regularly spawns imbalanced matches in which players are given opponents who are far above or below their true skill level.
Studies comparing FACEIT to Premier rankings reveal significant discrepancies in the rating system. Within the 14,000 Premier rating bracket, FACEIT Level 2 players are matched directly with FACEIT Level 10 players, a considerable skill disparity that highlights inherent flaws in Premier’s ranking algorithm and matchmaking logic.
Trust Factor System Complications
CS2’s Trust Factor system, which was meant to enhance matchmaking quality based on player conduct and account history, has become a cause of source of frustration. Good players are said to be mass-reported by their opponents, which lowers their Trust Factor scores and assigns them positions in lobbies with suspected cheats and toxic individuals.
This produces a perverse incentive structure in which good performance is punished via the reporting system, miring talented players in loops of bad matchmaking experiences. The system seems to punish the newcomer and the veteran, each developing self-reinforcing negative spirals that push users away from official matchmaking.
FACEIT’s Complete Infrastructure
In addition to simple matchmaking, FACEIT has a formal competitive environment with established career paths for improvement. FACEIT has leagues, tournaments, and its elite FACEIT Pro League (FPL), thus building career paths that encourage dedicated gamers to spend time practicing.
FACEIT’s seasonal model, local leaderboards, and reward system have concrete incentives for constant play and development. The point system of the platform, tradable for rewards and special events, gives value beyond mere rank climb.
Professional Player Migration
The popularity of FACEIT among top and professional players has a great impact on the perception of the community. Several professional players avoid CS2’s official matchmaking altogether or make limited usage of it, preferring FACEIT for serious practice and skill building.
This professional exodus is a result of FACEIT’s more stable high-level competition, better anti-cheat safeguarding, and community interest in competitive superiority. If the game’s top players are consistently opting for third-party platforms, a message is being sent regarding quality variance between systems.
Latest figures show that around 18% of CS2 players use FACEIT only for competitive play. This is a large percentage of the most active competitive player base, and it creates a self-sustaining process where serious players more and more turn away from official matchmaking.
New developments indicate CS2 is losing close to 50,000 active players from May to July 2025. Although seasonal patterns explain player number changes, community feedback all the while points to matchmaking quality, the prevalence of cheating, and the competitive experience in general as major determinants of exits.
Communication and Transparency Issues
Valve’s reserved communication about matchmaking enhancements is another main source of frustration in the community. While the company has technically enhanced anti-cheat mechanisms and fixed certain network problems, many of the core issues are still unaddressed or inadequately explained to players.
This communication gap is confusing the future of improvement and making the competitive community feel neglected. The lack of openness regarding ranking algorithms, anti-cheat performance, and intended improvements provides grounds for doubt about CS2’s long-term competitive value.
Global Server Coverage
FACEIT’s worldwide infrastructure tends to present superior server coverage in under-served areas than CS2’s official servers. For gamblers in regions lacking server infrastructure, FACEIT is often the only acceptable means of competitive play within their region.
This regional reliance on third-party services points to inherent infrastructure shortcomings in CS2’s worldwide rollout and questions the dedication of Valve to offering uniform service quality globally.
Verdict
The continued popularity of FACEIT over CS2’s native matchmaking indicates the presence of nuanced technical, social, and competitive considerations beyond mere comparisons of features. Although Valve has put much investment into major technical innovations, these developments have not translated to competitive experiences that appeal to the most dedicated players.
The task for Valve is not only to match FACEIT’s existing features but also to show long-term commitment to competitive quality by providing continuous updates, open communication, and active community interaction. Unless it addresses these basic issues, CS2’s matchmaking will remain inferior to mature third-party solutions.
Since the release of CS2, fans were bored with its decade-old predecessor and hoped for a reset without any alteration in the fundamentals of the game. While CS2 brought a holistic improvement in all areas, toxicity remains a lingering problem that to this day remains impossible to deal with, and to make it worse, the CS community has integrated it into as part of the Counter Strike culture.
While at an esports level, Valorant is very strict in dealing with untoward actions of professional players, it would be a blatant lie to say that an average competitive game doesn’t have a shred of toxicity, although unlike CS, it is not as glorified nor pronounced, leading to a better image of the game from the outside.
The drastic measures taken by Valorant led everyone to believe that Valve would introduce something similar when launching CS2, but nothing significant has hit the servers that is actively working on reducing the immense toxicity that thrives in every layer of the game. It wouldn’t be farfetched to say that it has become an integral part of the culture, and players can hardly finish a game without swearing at least once if not more.
What Counts as Toxicity in CS2?
As surprising as it sounds, little swearing is written off as normal behaviour by seasoned players, leading to normalisation of the toxic behaviour on a large scale. Toxicity is not limited only to swearing or verbal abuse. A player can ruin the vibe of a match without opening his microphone. Let’s look at some of the more common forms of toxicity in CS2.
Verbal abuse in voice and text chat
Teamkilling or griefing (e.g., trolling, throwing games)
Kicking teammates unfairly
AFKing or disconnecting due to frustration
Harassment based on gender, rank, nationality, or skill
If you have been playing the game for a while, it is impossible not to cross a player who openly displays such traits, and while 3rd party platforms often take measures to limit such behaviour, they are being shown on such a large scale that half the active player base would have to sit out for a while if bans are implemented.
Why Does CS2 Feel More Toxic Than CS:GO?
The game being reset completely destabilised the ranking system. Not only did it bring down the higher-ranked players close to lower-ranked players, but it also presented players stuck in a certain rank to grind out and get ahead of the rest, leading to desperation from either side, which eventually leads to toxicity if things do not go their way.
Rage queuing is something that can be attributed to toxicity in players. Losing streaks lead to frustrations and further deranks, and matches are filled with toxicity. While there is no definitive way to contain this, players need to be responsible on their own.
Community Feedback and Player Experiences
CS2 threads on Reddit have no shortage of stories depicting what the players had to face when playing the game.
“Got kicked for missing one round of utility.”
“Teammate flamed me for not buying an AWP.”
“People are more egoistic and rude than they were in CS:GO.”
External Factors Amplifying the Problem
Streams and influencers depict toxic behaviour online in the name of content, and it subtly influences fans to replicate the same thing when they are playing.
Valve has largely failed to shut down the surfing issue, leading to these players playing in lower-ranked lobbies and therefore unbalancing the game’s level. This behaviour leads to genuine players feeling unwelcome in the game.
One can argue that these problems existed during the days of CS:GO, and it is true; however, the drastic increase can be attributed to the mixing of players of different levels into one due to the lack of stabilisation of ranks. While the stark increase of toxicity in CS2 is a thing but recency bias can also be a reason people perceive the latest iteration of the game to more toxicity.
Hate Towards Female Players
It is no secret that targeted abuse towards female gamers exists in every game, and CS is no exception. While this was present back in the days of CS:GO, CS2 has more female players. Toxicity in general is broadly unaddressed in general matchmaking, let alone targeted abuse towards women, as they are only left with the in-game report function, which is hardly of any help.
How Do 3rd-Party Platforms Deal With Toxicity?
While there are a plethora of platforms out there, FACEIT is broadly known to have taken significant measures against toxicity. Suffice it to say that implementation of a whole system was required to tackle the various ways toxicity has prevailed in the game, and FACEIT has managed to minimise it more than any other platform.
How does FACEIT tackle toxicity?
Robust ANTICHEAT prevents surfing and multi-account use, leading to fair matchmaking and lesser frustration.
Strict action against griefers and match leavers is prompting players to take matches seriously.
Possible review of audiologs to track verbal abuse.
Prompt action from FACEIT admins to pick out griefers mid-game.
Players Have To Be Responsible
No matter how many tools are implemented to prevent toxicity in the game, it will be next to impossible at this point unless players learn to be responsible and exhibit more mature behaviour towards fellow teammates. Everyone has bad days, but that is not an excuse to abuse a fellow teammate.
Yes, the game is unfair at times, matching you with teammates of a lower ELO or putting you in a match against opponents of higher ELO, but trying your best should be the option you take.
Verdict
It cannot be said that CS2 is categorically more toxic than CS:GO, but rather, toxicity is a problem that has travelled from iteration to iteration. While the developers have to implement strict and implement drastic measures to cut down on the toxicity, unless the players’ base chooses something else to vent their frustrations, CS will continue to be toxic.
Charlie Cowdrey has been appointed CEO of JioBLAST, the joint venture between BLAST and RISE, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, the companies confirmed this week. This marks a turning point for the Indian esports scene. Cowdrey, a key figure at BLAST for the past four years, will relocate from London to Mumbai in September to lead the venture’s operations.
Cowdrey’s journey at BLAST has seen him move through several vital roles. He began as Chief of Staff, advanced to head publisher partnerships, and most recently served as Programme Director for Epic Games titles including Rocket League and Fortnite. His experience stretches beyond esports. Prior to joining BLAST in 2021, he spent nearly four years at Deloitte London, working in audit and transaction advisory. That blend of deep esports insight and strong business acumen makes him a strategic fit to lead JioBLAST.
Robbie Douek, CEO of BLAST, praised Cowdrey as “a trusted leader who understands our culture, our partners and our ambitions,” and emphasized that India “represents an enormous opportunity for BLAST”. In his statement, Cowdrey expressed excitement to “bring together Jio’s unrivalled reach, RISE’s commercial prowess and BLAST’s esports expertise,” and vowed to “supercharge the Indian esports industry”.
India is now home to more than 600 million gamers, representing roughly 18 percent of the global gaming population. Despite this massive user base, the nation has lagged behind in building consistent infrastructure, polished production, and strong league systems. The JioBLAST venture seeks to bridge those gaps by creating original esports IP, setting up a production studio, and producing tournaments on par with international standards.
Adding to that, JioBLAST intends to offer end-to-end tournament management, publisher services, and broadcast-ready content. The joint venture will leverage Jio’s telecom network, RISE’s commercial and sports broadcast experience, and BLAST’s award-winning production workflows. Mobile-first gaming and digital fan interaction via the JioGames platform are also major priorities, targeting the unique habits of India’s gaming audience.
Recruitment for the first six foundational roles is already underway in Mumbai. These early hires will be essential in drafting the blueprint of India’s next esports chapter – from talent development to production logistics.
For Cowdrey, the move to Mumbai is more than a job relocation. It is a challenge to mold a vibrant but fragmented gaming ecosystem into a cohesive, globally competitive esports industry. JioBLAST’s support system — Reliance’s infrastructure and BLAST’s production pedigree — places this venture in a strong position. Indian gamers and brands can expect more professionally run tournaments, mobile-accessible experiences, and a boost to local esports talent in the near future.
FIFA announced the extension of its marquee esports competition, officially confirming FIFAe Finals for 2025 and 2026. The competitions include three unique tournaments across Rocket League and eFootball titles, with FIFA at the forefront of sports esports development.
The FIFAe Finals 2025 will be held December 10-19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, continuing the successful partnership with the Saudi Esports Federation through 2026. The partnership fits into Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which seeks to create 39,000 gaming jobs and add $13.3 billion to the GDP of the Kingdom by the year 2030.
The fan feedback after last year’s event was incredible and confirmed our vision to provide a home for football esports to a range of different communities. Onboarding free-to-play titles and confirming the event for two seasons are significant steps on our journey to facilitate accessibility for nations and players from around the world.
Christian Volk, Director of eFootball & Gaming at FIFA
One of the key innovations in 2025 introduces regional qualification in place of the former invitation-only structure. The open qualification period will last for a number of months, allowing FIFA Member Associations to construct national squads via domestic trials, bootcamps, or nominations.
The competition will involve 40 national teams in three categories: FIFAe World Cup in partnership with Rocket League (16 teams), eFootball Console (12 teams), and eFootball Mobile (12 teams).
The 2024 FIFAe Finals were a huge success, being the most watched sporting simulation in terms of peak viewership and taking the Best Gaming/Esports Experience award at the 2025 Hashtag Sports Awards. Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Malaysia won the respective titles in the three tournaments.
FIFA’s deal with Konami goes up to 2026, while the addition of free-to-play games signifies the organization’s intentions towards making esports more accessible. Saudi Arabia’s gaming audience has grown to 23.5 million (67% of the country’s total), making the Kingdom a perfect base for the rise of esports.
In a shocking turn of events, Smiley, a BGMI player for iQOO Team Tamilas, was banned live on stream today for alleged cheating violations. The timing couldn’t be more problematic for the organization, which operates under the prestigious iQOO sponsorship banner as part of a major partnership initiative.
iQOO Team Tamilas Player Smiley Banned on Live Stream
The dramatic ban occurred during a live streaming session, with the official ban message reading: “The player **** has been banned in real-time for violating the User Agreement,” as first reported by an X user that goes by the name LetsGrowEsports.
While the ban message specifically cites a violation of the “User Agreement,” LetsGrowEsports alleges that this ban was due to cheating, though certainty remains elusive as various infractions can fall under the broad umbrella of user agreement violations. These can range from cheating and hacking to inappropriate conduct or account sharing.
What makes this situation particularly controversial is that Smiley had allegedly been facing hacking accusations for three months prior to his official signing with Team Tamilas. Despite these circulating allegations, the team proceeded to welcome him as their “4th face,” with Team Tamilas expressing confidence that “the performance will be way beyond what you ever imagined.”
This decision now appears to have backfired spectacularly, raising questions about the team’s due diligence process when recruiting new talent.
The timing is particularly awkward for smartphone brand iQOO. It recently announced a partnership with six Indian e-sports teams, including Team Tamilas. Under this arrangement, teams are branded as “iQOOxTeam_Name” across all tournaments, with iQOO’s logo prominently featured on team jerseys.
iQOO CEO Nipun Marya had emphasized the partnership’s focus on “co-creating with the community” and maintaining the highest standards of competitive gaming. The Smiley incident now threatens to undermine these values and could potentially damage the brand’s reputation.
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Big news just hit the Indian esports scene: Tanmay “Scout” Singh is now playing BGMI for Medal Esports. This isn’t just another roster shuffle – it’s one of India’s biggest gaming names landing on a squad hungry to prove itself. Let’s break down why this matters.
Who Is Scout? A Legend in Indian Esports
First, know Scout. He’s been a force in competitive mobile gaming for nearly a decade. Started in Counter-Strike, became a legend in PUBG Mobile, and now dominates BGMI. The guy wins: runner-up at a world league, third in a major Indian series, and he racks up tournament cash – over $60k earned. Off the battleground, he’s huge: 5 million YouTube subscribers, major brand deals, net worth in the tens of crores. He brings serious firepower and serious eyeballs.
A legacy that shaped Indian esports. A hunger that refuses to slow down. Let’s make history again. Welcome to Medal Esports @scouttanmay pic.twitter.com/Ya0vExv99D
Now, Medal Esports. They’re a solid team, founded in 2021, making steady climbs. They grabbed 8th in the last big BGMI series and snagged 2nd at the Caribbean Clash earlier this year. But here’s the thing: they’ve had moments where they just couldn’t close it out, like a rough 31st-place finish last year.
Medal Esports Now Have:
Altu (Altaf Attar) & Scout (Tanmay Singh) – Support
VeNoM (Shoeb) – IGL
A1mbot (Vikramaditya Dev) & Termi (Aakash Hirawat) – Fraggers
Raw skill? Plenty. Veteran leadership and clutch experience? That’s where Scout walks in.
So what does this move actually do?
Medal gets a brain and a trigger finger. Scout isn’t just a great player; he’s a proven In-Game Leader (IGL). Medal needed that consistent, late-game decision-making under pressure. Scout provides it. He’s the glue guy who can flank, assault, and lead all at once.
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During their ranked climb, most Valorant players spend hundreds of hours trying to refine their aim, crosshair placement, and spray control. While all of these are undoubtedly key elements of improving your overall mechanical skill in FPS games, they can quickly lose their impact if not complemented by another core aspect – movement.
While aim, crosshair placement, and utility usage generally top the list of priorities for any Valorant player looking to improve their rank, the importance of movement often gets overlooked in the process. Movement is undoubtedly one of the most underrated yet highly impactful aspects of high-level Valorant gameplay. Good movement can not only help you in getting out of sticky situations, but it also works alongside your aim to help you land more consistent headshots.
If you’re one of the Valorant players who find themselves hitting a plateau despite putting hundreds of hours in aim trainers, then the first thing you should focus on is improving your movement. Once you’ve mastered this fundamental mechanic, you’ll find yourself gliding through the ranking spectrum of Valorantin no time.
The Role of Movement in Valorant
The fact that shooting accuracy in Valorant is tied to movement isn’t exactly a secret. Much like in Counter-Strike, Valorant rewards a “stop and shoot” playstyle far more than “run and gun.” Crouching can help you further improve your accuracy and make sprays easier to land, while even walking slowly in any direction will make your bullets inaccurate.
And then there’s peeking, which is another vital part of movement in Valorant. Techniques like jump peeking, jiggle peeking, and shoulder peeking are essential for gathering information without getting a headshot in the process.
Mastering movement is essential for not only winning duels with well-timed counter-strafes, but it’s also the key to safely gathering intel, detecting enemy rushes, and baiting out shots from the enemy AWPer before entering a bombsite.
There are also technical factors, such as server latency and tick rate, that favor good movement over raw aim, often giving an edge to players who know how to position themselves strategically and time their peeks effectively.
Why Most Players Undervalue Movement
If having good movement in Valorant is so important, why is it often undervalued among its player base?
The answer to this is simple – good movement isn’t nearly as flashy as crisp 1-taps, multi-kill spraydowns, or an AWP flick from across the screen.
Whether you’re watching a highlight of your favorite Valorant pro from the last Masters event or checking out a clip of a streamer pulling off a 1v4 post-plant clutch, it’s easy to become so tunnel-visioned on the aim that you ignore the finer details like the movement that made those plays possible.
Most streamers, YouTubers, and even some coaches tend to spotlight aim gods over players who rely on their movement to get consistent frags. Add to that the growing obsession with aim trainers like Aim Lab and Kovaaks, and it’s easy to see how practising movement can take the backseat.
Lastly, unless you’re already playing in moderate-high ELOs (above Diamond), you’ll hardly get punished for having bad movement. But once you climb the ranks, that bad habit swiftly catches up with you, and you become a sitting duck for opponents who are in the higher ranks of the competitive spectrum.
Using Movement To Win Games
Now that you’re aware of the importance of having good movement in Valorant, it might be a good time to see how you can utilize it to win your ranked games.
To do so, you’d first have to learn the difference between micro-movements and macro-movements. The former consists of aspects that generally help you win duels like strafing unpredictably, counter-strafing before shooting, crouching, and jump-spotting, while the latter includes effectively rotating, positioning, and flanking.
Counter-strafes can help you land your bullets more frequently while making yourself a difficult target to hit, while crouching at the right moment can help you throw off enemy crosshair placement and avoid a headshot yourself. Jump spotting is used to gather early info on enemy rushes, and bait out shots from someone holding an important choke point.
Apart from the aforementioned examples, smart movement can also be used to bait out important utilities like a Breach stun or a Sova dart, disrupt enemy crosshair placements so your teammates can get a free entry frag on a bombsite, and it can also boost your overall survivability in combat.
Macro-movements generally come with game sense, and the more you play, the faster you’ll learn them. However, micro-movements require consistent practice to master, and learning to utilize them will give you a huge boost in your effectiveness in combat.
In this article, we’ll primarily focus on micro-movement and how you can use it to give yourself the edge on the battlefield.
How To Actively Train Movement
If you’re ready to start improving your movement in Valorant, there are a number of tools readily available for you to use.
The first thing I’d recommend doing is hitting the in-game range and finishing the movement course. Remember, you’ll have to finish it, and not just jump in there for a few minutes. While the course starts off quite easily, it can prove to be quite difficult for even experienced players in the later stages. Once you’re able to complete it, you should be well prepared to handle the finer aspects of movement in Valorant.
Now, you can start working on your counter-strafes. To improve your counter-strafing in Valorant, you can either boot up the range once again or hop right into a Deathmatch. In the range, set the bot difficulty to medium (or start off with easy and switch to medium later) and actively focus on landing headshots while constantly staying in motion. You have to practice stopping your movement by pressing the opposite direction key just before you shoot, reinforcing the timing of proper counter-strafing and turning it into muscle memory.
Once you’re done with the range drills, hop on a Deathmatch and work on counter-strafing against real players. Don’t fixate on getting kills – Deathmatch is all about improving your skills, not winning.
Lastly, if you’re a Duelist main, hop into a custom game and practice planning and executing your site entries using Raze satchels, Neon sprint, or Jett dash. Focus on how you break enemy sightlines, create space for your team, and drag enemy crosshairs.
Also, before queuing for a competitive game, make it a habit to do some warm-up routines to practice your movement alongside your aim.
By following these steps, you should be able to see notable progress on your movement skills and win a lot more duels during your ranked games.
Verdict
Just because movement doesn’t show up in the post-game scoreboard doesn’t mean that you can get away with ignoring it. Smart movement can help you secure more kills, make yourself a trickier target to hit, and even help your team secure important choke points.
Most duels in Valorant are decided before a single bullet is fired from either gun. It’s easy for players who are extremely good at strafing to get away with subpar aim, simply because their movement throws off their opponent’s crosshair placement and timing, giving them the upper hand before the fight even begins.
So the next time you lose a 1v1, take a moment to ask yourself: was it really your aim that let you down, or were you just standing still and making yourself a sitting duck? Make sure to record replays from your own ranked games and observe them to identify bad movement habits. Don’t fixate on your aiming mistakes, but try to take note of how you could’ve utilized your keyboard to avoid certain deaths or land better shots.
As you develop better movement habits, you’ll find your aim improving naturally, and your duels becoming easier to win. Stick with it, and you might just reach that dream rank sooner than you think.
