FORMATION Stories: 1witness

At the start of March, the North American Episode 2: Act I leaderboards were set. Names from Sentinels, Team Envy, and other esports powerhouses claimed the top spots. Among them was an amateur support player more than holding his own at #8, known as “1witness.”

The moniker belongs to Ben Majkut, 21, a Sova main from just outside Boston, Massachusetts. Although a console gamer from the start, 1witness turned his love of FPS games into a calling when he began playing Counter Strike: Global Offensive with an amateur team.

Then the VALORANT Closed Beta happened.

“I was having a lot of fun in the beta. Quarantine had just started so I was inside playing a lot, all day,” he said. “I was having a lot of fun trying out the different combination of abilities and different things you could do on maps.”

1witness added that he never intended on switching over but said the chance to get in early put him in a situation he had never been in before, where he could gain a knowledge advantage over others in a big competitive FPS game.

“I remember playing Split a lot with my first team. We were some of the first people to find a lot of the early stuff on Split, like the weird Cypher Spy Camera spots,” 1witness said. “There was so much to unpack and learn while everyone was still on the base level, with no one having played the game for more than a week.”

The grind sometimes takes its toll and after switching teams in summer 2020, 1witness admits there was a point where he decided to focus solely on his Criminal Justice degree. The debut of the VALORANT Leaderboards created the fire he needed.

At the start, he hovered in the top 100. To improve, he began playing later in the day with the intent to catch the pros that log on after scrims.

The other key to his leaderboard success? Play support.

“Some people need the crutch of having Raze nades or flashes and stuff like that,” he said. “I thought if I could master Sova and figure out how to use that to the best of my ability to assist and support, then it will make my teammates better and easier for me to win.”

His advice to other players, whether they decide to play support or not, is to watch the streamers who excel at your Agent of choice. For 1witness it was Hiko, a player he followed since his time with CS:GO.

Today, 1witness is playing tournaments under the amateur VALORANT team Seeker and intends on going pro. However, he’s determined to finish college no matter where the game takes him.

1witness Q&A

What’s your playstyle?

I'm lurky and baity—I try to help out where I can. If I feel we need to win rounds I go lurk or just do what I think is best and figure out how to get two or three kills.

What do you like about Sova?

I played Brimstone during beta. Also Sage for the first couple months. It wasn’t until September or October that I started playing Sova. He has balance and the best ability package.

Who do you play the least?

Jett. I AWP’d in CS:GO and I just can't OP in this game for some reason. I was a decent AWPer, but I feel like I just can't do anything about Jett [players]. People like poiz Updraft at you and just own you with Jett’s ult.

Who do you play if someone insta-locks Jett?

I’ll fill. For my team, I play Sage on Split or Icebox

Favorite map?

Ascent. It's the best map for Sova. I love the shock dart lineups you can do on that map.

Weapon?

I go back and forth between Vandal or Phantom. If I’m feeling it, the Vandal. If my aim is off I go with the Phantom.

Favorite weapon skin?

Singularity Phantom and Ion Operator.

What do you want to see from VALORANT in 2021?

More maps. I talked with my team and when the new map comes out, we are going to play it all the time, because you can gain an edge when a new map comes out. We’ve been playing icebox a lot and some teams still don't like it.

I guess no more flash characters please. It hurts my eyes.

What does “1witness” mean?

I don't even remember. From 2013 or 2014—[it was] something I thought was cool. My name was originally “Benzilla.” But I played with people who thought it was weird. Witness came from I’m not sure where.

Want to follow the formation of 1witness? You can watch him on Twitch and follow his Twitter.