Ankit
Panth
India
·
esports
Date of birth | 26 July 1989 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Meerut, Uttar Pradesh |
Age | 36 |
Nationality | India |
Career start | 2008 |
Disciplines | Gaming Various |
Ankit 'V3nom' Panth has been a figure of inspiration for the gaming community for many years, while also being the face of Team Brutality, but despite his vast experience, his esports journey has only just begun.
V3nom started gaming in a café in Kandivali, a suburb of the city of Mumbai, India and the enthusiasm he witnessed when people played Counter-Strike 1.6 and the sophistication in the gameplay were what convinced him to focus on the game.
After playing Counter-Strike for a while, he realised that he could represent India by playing it and he decided to make gaming his profession.
He has founded several gaming teams since he started playing Counter-Strike professionally. The first team he formed when he was just 15 years old was the amateur team Warriors Of Chaos (WOC).
Playing with WOC was the first time he managed to earn money through gaming and he also formed the semi-professional team Made in Mumbai (MiM) in 2006.
While still a part of WOC, V3nom met Aakash ‘RiX’ More – a popular player who was part of Team Wolf – while playing in a café. RiX gave V3nom an opportunity to play as a substitute for his team, which was in the top three in India at the time.
In 2008, V3nom and RiX started the player-owned Team Brutality and won their first major Counter-Strike 1.6 tournament soon after – earning V3nom his first tournament win.
V3nom switched to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive a few years ago, and has won many tournaments since.
His journey has been an inspiration to many of India’s young gamers, as he's one of the few esports athletes from the country to have successfully turned their gaming passion into a profession.