An Interview with Bleh: Part II

In the second part of our interview with renowned Counter-Strike analyst and commentator, Bleh, he talks about the Indian esports industry, Counter-Strike's history in the country and its future.

Let's come to Counter-Strike in India. CS:GO was relevant till about 2018-ish but with the likes of VALORANT and mobile games such as PUBG Mobile and BGMI games, CS took a backseat. There is a lot of excitement around the launch of CS2. Do you think India is ready to embrace CS as the number 1 esports title?

Absolutely. I've seen enough games come and go, but Counter-Strike has not just endured but flourished for the past 20+ years. And I think with the way there esports has started to be embraced in India, the time is ripe for the king to reign.

India, the most populous country in the world, surprisingly hasn't been able to develop a proper CS community. What do you think are some of the main reasons behind it?

Multiple. One of the biggest being the lack of opportunities for potential players to even play the game. Just look at BGMI/PUBG mobile and what a massive fantasy it's got. It's because almost everyone and their pet has access to a mobile phone in India and cheap data. This isn't the case for PCs.
But over the years, this is slowly changing. You can just look at VALORANT's growth.

Do you think PC gaming titles such as CS can outshine mobile games such as BGMI, PUBG Mobile in India, given how more economically feasible the alternative is?

I think both can exist together comfortably. It doesn't have to be this or that. Mobile games will always have a bigger market in India for obvious reasons (like I stated above: accessibility). But PC titles like CS will always be an overall bigger ecosystem worldwide with a fan base that is more lucrative from an advertisers stand point. The Indian market is big enough for both.

A lot of Indian CS professionals switched to VALORANT when the latter came out, what do you think will it take for them to return to CS?

I'm happy with the success they've found in VALORANT and I feel the current VALORANT ecosystem in India is perhaps the most stable PC esports system I've seen thus far in India. I'm not looking forward to them returning.
What I'm really looking for is a brand new generation of players to pick up CS2. It's the best FPS on the planet. It's been for over 20 years. I want the new kids to discover it.

Personally, what is your one goal for the Indian Counter-Strike community?

To rebuild a scene which can be competitive and play at a reasonably high level. If this can produce even one player that can play at a high level internationally, it could be the catalyst the scene needs. We need success stories. And I don’t think that is something unachievable.