rite2ace: "I think I am at the age where making this transition back to CS would be beneficial for me"

Earlier in September rite2ace, one of the foundational members of the Indian CS:GO scene announced his return to Counter-Strike from VALORANT. The tactical rifler and feared IGL, has an array of achievements in Counter-Strike under his belt having won COBX Indian Esports Championship 2017, ROG Masters 2017 Asia-Pacific: South Asia, Mountain Dew Arena 2017, ESL India Premiership: Fall 2017 and Conquerors Insignia 2017.

rite2ace is set to make his return to Counter-Strike after 3 years.

How did your Counter-Strike journey begin? When and where did it start? How did you make it to the pro scene?

"It began during my school days when I was in 4th grade or so. I used to travel to my aunt's place and there I found a gaming café where everyone used to play CS 1.6. That's where I was introduced to café culture. After I was introduced to Counter-Strike, I hardly played other games like single-player, etc. After I finished my boards, I was determined to be the best in the country, so I kept grinding, putting on the hours and eventually when CS:GO came out, I transitioned very fast and kept winning most of the events. That's how I made it into the Indian pro scene."

What made you leave Counter-Strike and what made you return?

"It was the start of 2020 and everyone was at home due to COVID lockdowns. I was part of GE's (Global Esports) CS:GO squad but we couldn't do much in terms of boot camp as some of the players didn't have PCs and couldn't rent one due to strict lockdown conditions. VALORANT was out in beta and luckily I got access through my team and I enjoyed playing it with Counter-Strike on the side. Eventually my focus shifted towards VALORANT and what I did back then during CS:GO, I did that in VALORANT - putting in the hours but this time, I was also streaming the games so people could enjoy watching me."

"After Riot introduced their partnership programs, they sort of neglected the Tier 2-3 scene and opportunities are very less if you have seen what's happening all around the world. I got the limited test access for CS2 a few months ago but the game has improved so much within that period. I think I am at the age where making this transition back to CS would be beneficial for me. I enjoy playing VALORANT with my team but its getting harder and harder to find a home we can represent together, so I hope my star players deadly and tricky can find orgs where they can earn some money while competing."

During your time as a VALORANT professional, did anything about VALORANT make you miss Counter-Strike?

"To be honest, I didn't miss Counter-Strike in that sense because the first 2 years of VALORANT were so hectic with back to back events and I actually didn't have the time to think about CS, so I just focused on the present and gave it my best. I did miss the old CS:GO days where we used to have a lot of LAN events for CS:GO and back then, the vibe was different."