In this interview, the American Brawlhalla player talks about his recent tournament success, Red Raptor, the game in general, and more.
Most Brawlhalla tournaments of 2024 happen online, and we rarely have a chance to see real people behind virtual characters. To break this barrier, we reached out to Rayhan "Raydish" Khan after his victory at the North America (NA) Trial of Heimdall event to ask him a few questions and to get to know the player better.
It was the first event of the Summer Circle for competitive Brawlhalla, and Raydish demonstrated his power and style while playing only Red Raptor throughout the event. In general, Raydish is one of the strongest Brawlhalla players in the world. He regularly reaches top placements in NA and international events.
Esports.gg: Congrats on winning the Trial of Heimdall! Are you happy with the start of Summer Circle? Do you think you’ll reach the Royale again?
Raydish: Winning Heimdall feels good since it gives me the best start to the circuit and also has more prizing than the rest of the trials. This is the same as the last Winter Circuit, where I also won the first trial, so as long as I stay consistent, I should qualify for the Royale.
Esports competition
Is the online environment better for you? Do you enjoy offline tournaments?
Raydish: The good thing about online is that you’re in the environment that you’re used to, which in my opinion brings out the best gameplay. Although my online performances are usually better than offline, in terms of the enjoyment and competition, I prefer offline tournaments.
South American guys are dominating international events now. Why do you think they are so strong? Will NA be back on top?
Raydish: From my own matchups with the South Americans, I don’t understand how they are this dominant for the past year or so. However, I have seen that many of the NA pros have stopped grinding like they used to. But with myself and newer top players, I believe NA will soon regain our dominance.
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Red Raptor and other legends
You’ve been playing Red Raptor for a while. What do you like about him? What do you say to someone who claims his Sigs are broken?
Raydish: The main thing I like about Raptor is his weapons. I was one of the only players who picked up Boots seriously on release, and it flowed well with my playstyle centered around Orb. Most of his Sigs are also really useful, but they are balanced by either having a really high amount of startup frames or recovery frames, making them highly committal moves.
Is it easy for you to abandon former mains for new ones? What would motivate you to take Imugi or another new legend?
Raydish: I was first known for being the best Petra main and only played her for a couple of years. However, when Raptor came out, it surprisingly wasn’t hard to just drop Petra and start maining him. The only other Legend I’d see myself playing is an Orb or Axe one, or if they buffed Ezio’s Orb kit.
Is it difficult for you when an opponent changes their legend mid-match?
Raydish: Not necessarily. It just depends on what they switch to and if I have a bad matchup into it.
Brawlhalla
Why do you like Brawlhalla?
Raydish: I like Brawlhalla for its simplicity. I tend to gravitate towards simple games over really flashy games, so Brawlhalla’s combat and character system make [it] the perfect fighting game for me.
The Brawlhalla Summer Circuit 2024 has three more Trials: Skuld between Aug. 3 and 4), Laufey between Aug. 24 and 25), and Freya between Sept.14 and 15. It will be interesting to watch the performance of Raydish at these tournaments and potentially at the Royale Invitational between Oct. 11 and 13.
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