Ashok Gupta
Gameweek 7 of India’s premier FIFA tournament EISL concluded yesterday. With two of the six playoff spots still at stake, the qualification scenario is quite exciting. All the teams will be going into the last gameweek of EISL except Odisha FC who have completed their 10 matches.
Sarvagya Rawat made his EiSL debut this season with Odisha FC. Sarvagya, or simply Vaagya, was paired with Nathan Fernandes for the ongoing season. Despite being relatively inexperienced in the pro scene, the duo has done quite well, causing a few upsets along the way.
In conversation with Yasho Amonkar of Sportskeeda Esports, Sarvagya reveals how a childhood friend helped him in his journey to EISL, details his experiences from the season, and where he feels he needs to improve, Told about it clearly.
“FIFA was always a game and I shared, and seeing it qualify for Season 1 of the EISL made me want to participate too”: Omniscient
Q) Which was the first edition of FIFA that you played? When did you feel you were good enough to compete at the highest level?
Omniscient: The first version of the game I ever played was FIFA 13 on PSP. My elder brother Suryansh introduced me to the game and thus began my journey. I only played offline or with my brother until FIFA 20.
FIFA 20 was when I came to know about FIFA Ultimate Team. It was during the COVID pandemic, when I had plenty of time to play and get better, that I realized I could start competing and make a career out of FIFA eSports.
Q) The ongoing EISL season is your debut in the FIFA eSports scene. How has been the overall experience of the tournament so far?
Omniscient: The experience and opportunity that I have been provided with has been genuine. Through EISL, I got a chance to compete with the best pros in the FIFA eSports scene.
This has not only helped me understand the scene better but has also helped me as a player for the coming season. This is an opportunity provided to only a few, and I am fortunate and privileged to be a part of this elite tournament.
Q) Emad Jameel of Northeast United FC was seen coaching you during the EISL qualifiers, which was a beautiful sight in itself. Can you tell me more about your relationship with Emad and how it all happened during the qualifiers?
Omniscient: Emad and I have been friends since school days. He is a year older than me and we met in school through FIFA. There was a tournament at school, and we ran into each other there and got to know each other. Since then, we have been gambling together.
FIFA was always a passion and I shared that, and seeing them qualify for Season 1 of the EISL made me want to participate as well. He agreed to help and coach me through the qualifiers. I played the qualifiers at his house as we live very close to each other.
Q) Odisha FC were seen as underdogs even before the ball was kicked. Given that both you and Nathan Fernandes are not as well versed in the Pro FIFA scene as some of the others in the tournament, how did you both react to this?
Omniscient: EISL season two is the first major professional tournament for Nathan and me. We knew that although we had the skill, we lacked the patience and experience of some of the other players in the tournament.
But we knew that wasn’t a good enough excuse to stop us. We both knew we just had to play our game, not think too much, just enjoy the occasion, and have a good time!
Q) The Juggernauts ended their league phase on six points. What do you consider your main weaknesses that you want to work on in the future?
Omniscient: Nathan and I had a slow start to the EISL season. Since this was our first tournament, we didn’t know what to expect. But as the season progressed, we improved our game a lot. We went from losing the first five games to avoiding losing the next four.
I think our main weakness was our defence. We had a lot to work on and improve on that aspect. But during the tournament we learned from our previous matches and understood where we went wrong and what was needed from us.
Q) Along with competing in the eISL this season, you also delved into content creation and streaming. Is streaming something you would like to do on a full time basis in the future?
Omniscient: ZenoVagyaYT was the channel that I started when I realized that eSports could be a potential career for me. I started this with the aim of helping other eSports players in the game of FIFA.
There are lots of little details and tricks known by the pros that are not widely known by the average player. These are the differences between being a professional and being an amateur player. In a sense, I wanted to be Emad for him as Emad was for me in my journey to become a pro.
Full-time streaming is always the ultimate goal for any gamer. Being able to play video games, help other gamers, and do it full time would be a dream come true.
Q) There are a lot of young FIFA players in India who are not aware of how to take gaming to the next level and become a professional eSports player. Is there anything from your travels that you would like to share with them?
Omniscient: What I have learned from my journey so far, and the experience I have gained playing with the best players in India, is to watch other professional players and see what they are doing. Also find out why they are doing this. Be curious about everything they do.
Why did he perform that skill move in that situation? Why did he press that button at that time? Why did he make that decision and not another? Ultimately, it is a game of precise and quick decision making. So understanding which decision is the best in which situation is one of the greatest skills any FIFA player can have.
Asking 100 questions to get a better understanding of the game is, in my opinion, the edge that can take any average player to a professional player.
During practice for the EISL qualifiers, I posed 100 questions to a group of professional players, and this greatly increased my understanding of the game, which in turn developed into skills for the game.