JessGOAT And Upmind Discuss The Upside Of The First Global LAN With Fans

The Red Bull Campus Clutch World Finals may not be the biggest stage in the world, but for VALORANT esports, it's a landmark opportunity. 

After the global pandemic may have hindered events in the past, the Campus Clutch has brought teams together from every corner of the globe, and has finally seen friends, families, and fans enter the arena for the first time in this esports' history.

With the University teams had gathered in Madrid, an array of talent have jetted out to the Spanish capital for the chance to cast and analyse the event, soaking in the atmosphere with every scream of emotion from the booths.

Casters Jessica "JessGOAT" Bolden and Gustavo "Upmind" Franco Domingues have now expressed their excitement to be back in an arena with such an atmosphere, and spoken about the importance of having fans. 

Speaking exclusively to GGRecon, JessGOAT explained: "I've done a few LANs now, but they've all been closed off. But here I can hear the audience in the background, I can hear the caster's shouting in different languages, it's incredible."

Upmind added: "It's just amazing, straight up. I've gone through as many words as possible in the English dictionary to try and describe my experience here, but I legitimately can't find any words that can sum up how happy I am. Just to be here, just to be out, just to be around the players, other casters."

"It's my first time coming to Europe, so this is a dream come true."

Jess also describe the impacts of fans being back in the arena, admitting "fans are what make esports". 

She continued: "[Without fans], it's not a sport, it's just people competing from behind closed doors at a desk. We wouldn't have prize pool, the sponsors, the organisations without the fans. So, just looking at how esports runs and the ecosystem, what funds it? The fans. So fans always come first."

The Red Bull Campus Clutch World Finals has been a resounding success, with the likes of Tyler "Ninja" Blevins being involved in the co-streams and G2 Esports' Jakub "Lothar" Szygulski landing on the desk. 

With JessGOAT claiming "Red Bull have pulled off the impossible", it now shows that the world can slowly see fans return to games around the world, and push out of this online era which has hindered live events for over a year.