We sat down with Viperio Co-owner and Commercial Director Brodie Mulvaney to discuss Viperio’s upcoming competitive fixtures, investment journey, and predictions for 2024.
Viperio’s new Counter-Strike roster has yet had time to prove what they are capable of, how do you think they will perform going into 2024?
“It is always difficult to predict how a team will perform when they are a new roster, even if they are comprised of a core group of players that has seen recent success. Off the back of signing the ex-raptors lineup, we were faced with some challenges. The team decided to part ways with Arkadiusz “ifan” Dabkowski, and we sold Slaven “AwaykeN” Lyubenov to Team 7AM mere hours after entering into an agreement with the star AWPer.”
“We worked closely with Head Counter-Strike coach Daniel “papp” Hart to find replacements, of which I think we succeeded. Both Kim “mAnGo” Larsen and Jan “Pandi70” Holák are exciting prospects, offering what we were looking to replace, and more.”
“We’ve offered attractive incentives and extension clauses within our player’s contracts as part of Viperio’s commitment to this roster in the event that they, and Viperio, are successful within their initial term. 2024 is a year of growth for both Viperio and this roster.”
“The foundations have been set, and with enough time, I am confident we will see great competitive performance out of this roster throughout 2024.”
Do you feel a pressure to re-qualify for prestigious events like RMR Major Qualifiers like Viperio did last year?
“Over the last 10 years we have implemented a company culture that focuses on consistent improvements on our past commercial, competitive, or otherwise successes. Where possible, we want to mitigate the chances of taking backwards steps, and will actively strive to either maintain, or improve on the success stories we have had previously.”
“Although this culture exists, it is important to note that qualifying for an event like a Major qualifier is an incredibly challenging task, and many elements of achieving this are out of our control; such as roster performance, tournament bracket structures, and the general standard of competition we face.”
“I believe that we have done everything in our power with the resources we have at this point in time to give Viperio the best possible chances of requalifying for events such as the upcoming Major RMR qualifiers. If we do not achieve this in the upcoming weeks, I feel it would be harsh to consider this a backwards step.”
“Viperio is in a period of on-going commercial growth. Our last financial year was our best to date, and we are actively undergoing an investment raise off the back of our Equity Pitch Competition win in September last year. These ongoing steps are building the foundations so that in the future, Viperio will have the expectation to frequently qualify for events like the RMR’s, and potentially further afield. The pressure to frequently attend these events will eventually exist, I’m just not sure that it is fair to place that pressure on us at this moment in time.”
You have talked about Viperio’s Counter-Strike performance predictions, but what do you see Viperio achieving by the end of 2024.
“This year is all about building upon Viperio’s foundations to strengthen our ambitions of becoming a household name across UK and EU esports. Upon the completion of our investment round, Viperio will have more resources available to achieve this. We are currently working towards exhausting all possible value at this point in time so that when these resources become available, we can hit the ground running.”
“As for tangible results in 2024, Viperio is working towards increased social growth, improved competitive results, and further development across existing and new Viperio revenue streams. A multi-year strategy has been put in place with several contingency plans that outlines how Viperio will achieve its aims going into 2024 and further into the future.”
“Myself and the team here at Viperio have a very positive outlook for Viperio in 2024. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are on track to creating something truly special.”
