In this interview, a continuation of our “Talkesport Interact” Series. Simar “Pay” Sethi talks to us about his journey of being a professional player and sheds light on other aspects related to CSGO and the Indian Esports scenario.
Malav: Hey Psy, please share a little about yourself for our audiences who may not know you
psy: Sure! My name is Simar Sethi. I am from Delhi and I am 20 years old. I go by the name ‘psy’ in-game. For the last 5 years, I have been at the top of Indian Counter-Strike, and I’m currently Entry and Secondary AWPer for Entity Gaming.
Malav: At what point in your life did you decide to go pro?
psy: Let’s see… For the longest time in my cyber cafe life, I was ridiculed for being a rather bad player. At one point, I decided to change their perception of me completely and that led me down the path of being pro.
Malav: How did your parents feel when you told them you wanted to go pro? Do they support gaming as a profession now?
psy: There was hesitation in my family at the beginning, and frankly, I do not blame them. Everyone wants their parents’ instant support, but earning it in their eyes is what really counts. It took time, but I was able to do this. Till this date, my mother and father are my biggest fans!
Malav: You’ve been involved with the pro gaming scene since 2016. How do you find things have evolved with Indian esports?
psy: There has been a significant improvement in the Indian esport scene. While there has been an influx of prize money, India’s talent pool has grown at a tremendous rate, and that is what truly matters.
Malav: Earlier in the year, HellRanger and you were benched by Entity only to be brought back to the main roster sometime later. What was the reason behind that decision?
psy: I would rather not answer this question. It is better for everyone.
Malav: You have been playing with two Serbian players, are there any communication barriers in the team?
psy: Their English is quite good. Unfortunately, Anuj, Excali, and I automatically switch to Hindi which is something that doesn’t seem to stop anytime soon. Old habits die hard, you know?
Malav: How was the one-month boot camp in Serbia?
psy: The team prospered and individually, I too learned a lot and garnered some needed experience which will help out immensely in the future!
Malav: What do your personal practice and warm up routine consist of?
psy: Honestly, my personal schedule isn’t where I would want it to be given my RSI (injury). Nevertheless, I religiously stick to ten minutes of Deathmatch and ten minutes of bots before diving into the competitive mindset.
Malav: If you weren’t playing CS, what would you be doing?
psy: Without second thoughts, I’ll say that I would be either a chef-cum-businessman.
Malav: What factors affect your game the most when playing?
psy: I am an emotional player. Factors such as the team atmosphere or if there is something off in my life, it ends up affecting my performance. However, I also consider the emotional turbulence one of my strong suits because that powers my performance to a great degree.
Malav: One thing you would change in CSGO?
psy: I would add Tuscan and remove Overpass. Hate that map. ?
Malav: Describe your teammates in one word (Excali, Ameratsu, Dav, Djoxic)
psy: Excali is a silent assassin.
Amaterasu is a mad man.
Dav is the ringleader.
Djoxic is the rager. ?
Malav: Who do you think will be the breakout players for the year in the Indian scene?
psy: I see a lot of potential in Team JHS and God Particles. Players such as BADlove, Juven, Knightrider, and Ember have what it takes to go the distance if they remain committed with dedication and proper mentality fit for being part of the esports scene.
Malav: Any last words you would like to say?
psy: As mentioned on my fan page, even though I have RSI, I’m making a promise to myself and to my fans that I shall always deliver. Always.
A big shoutout to my fans (psy army) for their love and support.
I want to thank psy for his time and wish him the best of luck on his new endeavours with Entity Gaming. Don’t forget to check out his social media pages and stay tuned:
