Red Bulletin UK 5/21

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VENTURE Gaming PLAY Game your career Playing video games for a living isn’t something a careers advisor would recommend. For that advice, you need a proven esports superstar Right now, students across the world are studying for a big test, but not the kind you’d expect. Red Bull Campus Clutch is a global esports tournament for universityaged players competing in VALORANT, a tactical teambased first-person shooter. Before it had even launched last year, the first livestreamed playtest broke the record for the most hours of a single game watched in a day (34 million, with 1.7 million concurrent spectators at one point). It has grown into one of the biggest esports, drawing star players from rival games such as Fortnite and Overwatch. Campus Clutch competitors might not be in the same league, but the winning teams from each country will play off in May’s world final for a prize of €20,000 and a state-of-theart gaming hub for their campus. It might also kickstart a lucrative career they hadn’t previously studied for – pro esports athlete. Jacob ‘pyth’ Mourujärvi (pictured, right) could teach them a thing or two. The 27-year-old Swede, part of the elite G2 Esports team, is one of the world’s best VALORANT players, but nine years ago he was studying IT at school. “I had no career ideas, but I enjoyed working with computers,” he says. He was playing the newly released Counter-Strike: Global Offensive at the time when some fellow players asked him to join a team. “Now I work with computers every day.” Here are some valuable lessons pyth learned on his unorthodox career path… Focus your passion When he left education at 18, Mourujärvi was playing CS:GO for 15 hours a day. “Sleeping at 8am, waking at 5pm and “There are no shortcuts – you have to build your way up” Sharp shooters: VALORANT characters Phoenix (left) and Jett grinding again,” he recalls. “But when I knew there could be a career in it, I changed my routine and began thinking like a pro. I also stopped shittalking. I’ve been a nice guy for 14 years now.” Play to your strengths Pyth is a master of ‘clutch’ play – the ability to turn a game around in the final seconds – which he proved this February when G2 won the first Red Bull Home Grounds competition, and earlier in his career when he singlehandedly defeated rivals Ninjas in Pyjamas in a 2014 four-against-one CS:GO match. Two years later, he was playing for them. “Prove yourself and people will see you,” he says. “But there are no shortcuts – you have to build your way up. And have fun or you’ll get nowhere.” Exit your comfort zone In 2015, pyth explored uncharted territory, helping to build new Canadian CS:GO team Luminosity Gaming. “I was teamless and wanted to prove myself,” he says. “I learned a lot. Before, I was just shooting and focused on good stats; I didn’t talk a lot. But I became a better team player, more open and honest.” This successful move inspired another one when he left CS:GO. “I was caught in a bad cycle with teams I didn’t believe in. I thought, ‘I’m going to gamble at being one of VALORANT’s best players.’ It was a challenge and it was awesome.” Avoid toxicity “The people who hate on you are the loudest,” says pyth. “Playing CS:GO, I was abused on Twitter and got death threats mid-game. I practised some focusing exercises, but then forgot to do them.” He turned to training software to shut out stress – “I’d practise shooting ranges in [training program] AimLab, with music on to get good vibes” – but the answer lay in a change of scene. “VALORANT has one of the most supportive fanbases,” he says, adding that good workmates are also vital. “In G2, we’re friends in and out of the game.” Look ahead At 27, Mourujärvi is an esports veteran. But he’s confident that when his competitive time is up, his career won’t be. “I still want to work in esports, maybe as a coach. A lot of players just practise their aim every day, but they need to understand teamwork and strategy. You can’t just have the same players in the team. It’s like how [Premier League football team] Liverpool became better when they bought [defender] Virgil van Dijk. He’s not an official captain, but he brought leadership and confidence that fed into the team. That’s a good quality to have.” VALORANT is on Microsoft Windows; playvalorant.com. Check out the latest Red Bull Campus Clutch heats at redbull.com. Follow pyth at twitch.tv/pyth YUNG ELDR JOE ELLISON 92 THE RED BULLETIN
VENTURE Gaming Cover your tracks: you can also buy a silicon skin (pictured far left) to protect your Pocket Operator TEENAGE ENGINEERING TOM GUISE COMPOSE Beat it up Don’t be fooled by the toy-like looks – this mini synth packs a Dragon Punch Modular synthesisers – electronic musical instruments that can be linked to sample, create and manipulate sounds – have been around since the 1950s, when they were as big as a fridge. Street Fighter II, released in 1991, was the first fighting video game to sport ‘combos’ – strings of combat moves. Teenage Engineering is a brain trust of Swedish engineers who make cool, retro-styled music gear, and this is their love letter to all of the above. Their Pocket Operator synths are a masterclass in stripped-down design: a circuit board with a flipstand, two AAA batteries, and a pair of 3.5mm jacks on the back. On the front is a grid of buttons, two knobs and a mic to create 16 sequences of 16 sounds to record a 256-step tune or perform an impressive live set. Each device has its own sound – rhythm, robot, office – represented by vintage Nintendo-style graphics on the LCD display. Connect them together and you have a digital orchestra. And now you can add SFII’s classic ‘Shoryuken’ samples to that knockout combo. teenage.engineering THE RED BULLETIN 93
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UK EDITION MAY 2021, £3.50 BEYOND
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© Jean Nouvel, Gilbert Lézénès,
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CONTENTS May 2021 08 Gallery: drago
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ERIC VARGIOLU/DPPI/RED BULL CONTENT
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ESBEN ZØLLNER OLESEN/RED BULL CONT
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FLAWES Dream team The indie-pop tri
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Positive outlook: (clockwise from t
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FORCE POWER SERIES SO MUCH FUN, IT
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The unkindest cut: Watt’s photo p
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Ducati.com Developed with Technical
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“I train very hard and I get used
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“I’ve had difficulty being the
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“Adversity doesn’t look the sam
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B-Girl Vanessa The 29-year-old Port
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“As soon as I won my first battle
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Izaak Brandt A multidisciplinary ar
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Breaking B-Boy Sunni The poster boy
Page 41 and 42: Breaking route. And I’ve always p
Page 43 and 44: Thymann enters the water of the cav
Page 45 and 46: Locating the cave “We start out w
Page 47 and 48: Cave exploration “Exploration cav
Page 49 and 50: Lining the route “Exploration of
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Page 53 and 54: Cave exploration Bubbles created by
Page 55 and 56: Thymann uses UV light to assess dam
Page 57 and 58: Rocks off: Hannah Bergemann drops i
Page 59 and 60: After three dig days, the women had
Page 61 and 62: Formation mountain biking; they had
Page 63 and 64: Dream team: the athletes, dig crews
Page 65 and 66: Formation MICHELLE PARKER, KATIE LO
Page 67 and 68: Future’s bright: Ghetts’ moving
Page 69 and 70: “I don’t think I’d be having
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Page 74 and 75: VENTURE Travel “The route down wo
Page 76 and 77: VENTURE Travel Soar point: (above)
Page 78: “I was 13 the first time I did a
Page 81 and 82: VENTURE Equipment TIM KENT Rider #1
Page 83 and 84: VENTURE Equipment The slender steed
Page 85 and 86: VENTURE Equipment TIM KENT Rider #3
Page 87 and 88: VENTURE Equipment The souped-up ste
Page 89 and 90: VENTURE Fitness Before becoming the
Page 91: 10 ISSUES newsstand.co.uk/ theredbu
Page 95 and 96: VENTURE Calendar 13 April onwards N
Page 97 and 98: NEED TO CONQUER A MOUNTAIN OF WORK?
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