CHENNAI: Vikram Naidu aka Vikram Jin, a Chennai-based gamer, entered the world of professional gaming in the year 2009. The name ‘Jin’ was inspired from his favourite character Devil Jin from Tekken, which he eventually adopted as his gaming alias. He plays games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Counter Strike: GO and FIFA, but professionally sticks to only COD and CS: GO.
Like any other 90s kid, he grew up playing games such as Mario and Contra. As he grew older, the PS2 bug bit, and he started frequenting gaming cafés. “ I used to go to a particular café every day, and the owner taught me the basics of pro gaming. I consider him my mentor,” he says.
In 2012, Vikram participated in Fragfest, a gaming tournament hosted by Blur gaming lounge, held in Chennai. His motive was to simply watch senior gamers play. “There were too many professional gamers and I was a newbie. I went with the intention of learning from the best,” he smiles. The participants and their expertise left quite a lasting impression on Vikram; he decided to turn pro right after that. “My friends and I participated in the same tournament in 2013 and were ranked second. I have really worked hard to be a professional.”
Vikram has participated and won various tournaments including SRM ‘Milan’, 2015 (2nd place), SRM ‘Aaruush’, 2016 (1st place), NIT Delhi, 2016 (1st place), IIT Madras ‘Saarang’, 2017 (2nd place) and won ILG seasons 1 and 2, hosted by LXG and Lenovo’. So will he ever participate in an international tournament? “I believe that I have not yet acquired the expertise to participate in high-level tournaments — It might take another year to reach that level,” he says.
Vikram shares his parents’ take on his profession, “When I told them how much I like gaming, like every other parent out there, they were reluctant in supporting me and said gaming is not a ‘serious vocation’,” he laments, adding, “They wanted me to concentrate on studies alone and become an engineer. However, that never stopped me from going to gaming cafés.” (laughs).
Even before partcipating in his first tournament, he had to lie to his parents that he is going for a cricket tournament. But when he came back with cash prizes, awards and goodies afterwards, they were supportive. A BTech graduate from MGR College, he worships gaming and he gets really irritated when someone interrupts him while playing. “I take gaming very seriously as it is my profession. Gaming is the only serious thing I have ever done in my life”, he adds.
Vikram’s top three favourite games are COD: Modern Warfare, CS: GO and DOTA. He recently read a post on eSports being included as an event at the 2032 Olympics and is excited. “I believe that a lot of Indian gamers would participate in case that becomes a reality. I am very hopeful,” he smiles.
According to Vikram, hardwork and perseverance is important to excel in gaming. “I remember going to NIT Delhi, and winning against the top team of India. I worked hard to achieve this feat, burning the midnight oil on most days. It was only because of my discipline and dedication that I could put my best foot forward and vanquish the other gamers. I advise aspiring gamers to practice every day and never give up,” he adds.