In an exclusive interview, Goblin reflected on his past, the present, and the future. Read on to find out.
When a sponsor approached Harsh “Soul Goblin” Paudwal in his early days of playing PUBG Mobile, the gamer was over the moon, having currently been playing the battle royale title on a potato device.
The sponsor was impressed with his performance and was willing to give a deal to the emerging talent. The deal – get a new device worth Rs. 15,000 (about $191) for yourself and the sponsor would pay him three monthly installments of Rs. 5,000 in exchange.
Goblin’s mother, though, was a little anxious about the deal. Taking care of the family as a single mother, with Goblin describing their financial condition as “very weak”, she was worried that the sponsor wouldn’t pay up after the first month. But, the player was adamant to take the deal.
Goblin’s mother finally gave in to his demands and brought the device, a Realme X2, for him. But, her worst fears were confirmed as the sponsor didn’t pay up after the first month.
“I literally cried in front of my mom to take the deal. I told my mom that if he doesn’t pay up, I will earn it myself. My mom finally caved in and bought the device. But the sponsor didn’t pay up for the next two months. My mom scolded me a lot after this because our financial condition was very weak. My mom and dad live separately. It was really hard for me to earn that 10,000.”
Soul Goblin: Humble beginnings to one of the best BGMI players in the region
Despite a discouraging start to his career as an esports athlete, the player remained committed and in March 2022 got a shot at making it big, with one of the most popular esports organizations in the region: Team Soul. The player did exactly that.
When asked about what it felt like to join Team Soul, the question brought a smile to the player's face. Being a longtime fan of Team Soul and Mortal, being a part of the team was a dream come true.
“At one time when I used to play in the beginning on my mom’s device, my [in-game] name used to be Soul HP Harsh. HP means my full name, Harsh Parwal. I was a big fan of Mortal and started playing after watching him. When I got an offer from them, I was like what the f***, I got an offer from Team Soul itself, whose name I used to play with. Without thinking, I told them, yeah sure why not.”
Not many people knew who Goblin was a few months ago but after joining Team Soul and winning the Battlegrounds Mobile India Pro Series (BMPS) with them, everyone does. Besides helping Team Soul clinch victory, Goblin earned a lot of individual accolades in the event as well. This included the MVP, Rampage Freak award, Fan Favorite player, and three Player of the Days awards in the four-day tournament.
Before the BMPS, Goblin wasn’t sure that he would be performing at this level individually but was confident that the hard work of the team would pay off to help them get first place.
“From the 4th Round of the BMOC, we watched all of the games and analyzed everyone’s drops and rotations. A to Z, we were analyzing everything. We couldn’t afford even a small mistake that could have made us lose the BMPS. I was 90 percent sure [of performing at this level] and 10 percent was like what if we panic or something? But there was nothing like this because all of the players with me are experienced compared to me. I wasn’t sure about the MVP but for the team, I was confident that we would win.”
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The future: Winning the BGMI Masters Series and then focusing on the PUBG Mobile World Invitational (PMWI)
Team Soul will next be seen in action at the BGMI Masters Series (BGMS). The BGMS will happen from June 24 to July 17 and will be broadcasted on national TV for the first time in the game’s history. Fans can tune into the competition on Star Sports 2 from 8:30 to 11 pm IST each day.
Speaking about the future, Goblin said that Team Soul will continue to do the same things. For the team, winning the BMPS wasn’t the end goal but just a part of the journey.
“BMPS was a part of the journey. It’s not like BMPS was our target and we can chill now. It’s not like that. We will win the Nodwin LAN event [referring to the BGMS] and after that start the full grind for the PMWI.”
Representing the region in the PMWI: Focus on gun skills for Team Soul
Team Soul’s first-place finish at the BMPS have earned them a slot at the PMWI. The PMWI will happen as a LAN event in the coming months with teams from around the globe, but Tencent hasn’t revealed any details about it yet.
With Team Soul having only competed against local teams recently, Goblin gave an insight into how they were preparing to take on the challenge at the World Invitational. The player said that instead of analyzing the opponent's rotations, they will be focusing on gun skills so that there is a zero percent chance for them to lose fights.
“We’ve decided that for the PMWI, learning [opponent’s] rotations and reading them are useless. [This is] because even if we work hard on rotations and all, [the strategy gap] between us and them will become neutral as they already know it. We wouldn’t gain an advantage or something. But if we work on gun power and team skills then we might gain an advantage.”
Soul Goblin: “If you can stop us, then do it”
With his newly-found stardom, Goblin has gained a lot of supporters. In a message to hos fans, the player assured them that the team will continue performing at this level.
“Keep supporting us like this, we will keep fighting like this. If you can stop us, then do it.”
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