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VENTURE<br />
Gaming<br />
PLAY<br />
Game<br />
your<br />
career<br />
Playing video games<br />
for a living isn’t something<br />
a careers advisor would<br />
recommend. For that<br />
advice, you need a proven<br />
esports superstar<br />
Right now, students across<br />
the world are studying for a<br />
big test, but not the kind you’d<br />
expect. <strong>Red</strong> Bull Campus<br />
Clutch is a global esports<br />
tournament for universityaged<br />
players competing in<br />
VALORANT, a tactical teambased<br />
first-person shooter.<br />
Before it had even launched<br />
last year, the first livestreamed<br />
playtest broke the<br />
record for the most hours<br />
of a single game watched in<br />
a day (34 million, with 1.7<br />
million concurrent spectators<br />
at one point). It has grown<br />
into one of the biggest<br />
esports, drawing star players<br />
from rival games such as<br />
Fortnite and Overwatch.<br />
Campus Clutch<br />
competitors might not be<br />
in the same league, but the<br />
winning teams from each<br />
country will play off in May’s<br />
world final for a prize of<br />
€20,000 and a state-of-theart<br />
gaming hub for their<br />
campus. It might also<br />
kickstart a lucrative career<br />
they hadn’t previously studied<br />
for – pro esports athlete.<br />
Jacob ‘pyth’ Mourujärvi<br />
(pictured, right) could teach<br />
them a thing or two. The<br />
27-year-old Swede, part<br />
of the elite G2 Esports team,<br />
is one of the world’s best<br />
VALORANT players, but nine<br />
years ago he was studying IT<br />
at school. “I had no career<br />
ideas, but I enjoyed working<br />
with computers,” he says.<br />
He was playing the newly<br />
released Counter-Strike: Global<br />
Offensive at the time when<br />
some fellow players asked him<br />
to join a team. “Now I work<br />
with computers every day.”<br />
Here are some valuable<br />
lessons pyth learned on his<br />
unorthodox career path…<br />
Focus your passion<br />
When he left education at 18,<br />
Mourujärvi was playing CS:GO<br />
for 15 hours a day. “Sleeping<br />
at 8am, waking at 5pm and<br />
“There are<br />
no shortcuts<br />
– you have<br />
to build your<br />
way up”<br />
Sharp shooters: VALORANT<br />
characters Phoenix (left) and Jett<br />
grinding again,” he recalls.<br />
“But when I knew there could<br />
be a career in it, I changed my<br />
routine and began thinking<br />
like a pro. I also stopped shittalking.<br />
I’ve been a nice guy<br />
for 14 years now.”<br />
Play to your strengths<br />
Pyth is a master of ‘clutch’ play<br />
– the ability to turn a game<br />
around in the final seconds –<br />
which he proved this February<br />
when G2 won the first <strong>Red</strong> Bull<br />
Home Grounds competition,<br />
and earlier in his career when<br />
he singlehandedly defeated<br />
rivals Ninjas in Pyjamas in a<br />
2014 four-against-one CS:GO<br />
match. Two years later, he<br />
was playing for them. “Prove<br />
yourself and people will see<br />
you,” he says. “But there are<br />
no shortcuts – you have to<br />
build your way up. And have<br />
fun or you’ll get nowhere.”<br />
Exit your comfort zone<br />
In 2015, pyth explored<br />
uncharted territory, helping<br />
to build new Canadian CS:GO<br />
team Luminosity Gaming.<br />
“I was teamless and wanted<br />
to prove myself,” he says.<br />
“I learned a lot. Before, I was<br />
just shooting and focused<br />
on good stats; I didn’t talk<br />
a lot. But I became a better<br />
team player, more open and<br />
honest.” This successful move<br />
inspired another one when<br />
he left CS:GO. “I was caught<br />
in a bad cycle with teams<br />
I didn’t believe in. I thought,<br />
‘I’m going to gamble at being<br />
one of VALORANT’s best<br />
players.’ It was a challenge<br />
and it was awesome.”<br />
Avoid toxicity<br />
“The people who hate on you<br />
are the loudest,” says pyth.<br />
“Playing CS:GO, I was abused<br />
on Twitter and got death<br />
threats mid-game. I practised<br />
some focusing exercises, but<br />
then forgot to do them.” He<br />
turned to training software to<br />
shut out stress – “I’d practise<br />
shooting ranges in [training<br />
program] AimLab, with music<br />
on to get good vibes” – but<br />
the answer lay in a change<br />
of scene. “VALORANT has<br />
one of the most supportive<br />
fanbases,” he says, adding<br />
that good workmates are also<br />
vital. “In G2, we’re friends in<br />
and out of the game.”<br />
Look ahead<br />
At 27, Mourujärvi is an esports<br />
veteran. But he’s confident<br />
that when his competitive<br />
time is up, his career won’t be.<br />
“I still want to work in esports,<br />
maybe as a coach. A lot of<br />
players just practise their aim<br />
every day, but they need to<br />
understand teamwork and<br />
strategy. You can’t just have<br />
the same players in the team.<br />
It’s like how [Premier League<br />
football team] Liverpool<br />
became better when they<br />
bought [defender] Virgil<br />
van Dijk. He’s not an official<br />
captain, but he brought<br />
leadership and confidence<br />
that fed into the team. That’s<br />
a good quality to have.”<br />
VALORANT is on Microsoft<br />
Windows; playvalorant.com.<br />
Check out the latest <strong>Red</strong> Bull<br />
Campus Clutch heats at<br />
redbull.com. Follow pyth at<br />
twitch.tv/pyth<br />
YUNG ELDR JOE ELLISON<br />
92 THE RED BULLETIN
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