FORMATION Stories: Campion

There’s something about VALORANT that came calling for Chris Dang, 20, from the Bay Area, California.

“VALORANT is like a mix of all the FPS games combined, where you’ll see people from so many other competitive FPS games crossover,” Dang said.

That trait lured Dang from his days of heavy PUGing (pick up games) on ESEA and FACEIT—two esports competitive platforms—to reigning at #5 as “Campion” on the Act II VALORANT NA leaderboards.

“VALORANT helped me strive for something. I wasn't really looking forward to anything. I didnt think about going pro in a game and doing something I loved to do. VALORANT brought that to me,” Campion said. “It showed me just how far I could take something if I put my time into it and really focus.”

Campion said he’s played just about every day since the closed beta, and although he only made it to Immortal 2 at first, he’s earned Radiant consistently since VALORANT’s launch.

The beta was when Dang first picked up the deadly Jett and Operator combo. Although he never played “AWPer” in CS:GO, he did love playing entry, so Jett’s offensive style was a natural fit for him.

The style helped Campion reach the top of the leaderboards and get noticed by others playing on Tier 2 VALORANT teams.

“Psalm asked me to trial for a team he was previously on. I didn't make that trial but from there, he asked me to form a team with him,” Campion said. “And I’ve been playing with Squirtle Squad for a few weeks now.”

Campion now uses the leaderboard to practice and maintain his mechanics with his focus on helping his new team to the top.

“I plan to just keep playing the game and be the best I can possibly be,” he said.

Follow Chris “Campion” Dang’s formation on Twitter and Twitch.

CAMPION Q+A

How did you choose “Campion” as your name?

I originally got it watching a TV show, Raised by Wolves. I looked up the name and what it meant and apparently it's like “champion” in a few different languages—and I thought that was cool.

What can someone expect playing against Campion?

I'm a very aggressive player. I love getting into people’s faces and trying to frag out.

Any rituals before big matches?

I play DeathMatch a lot. I don't eat anything too heavy and drink a lot of water.

Someone chooses Jett, how do you fill?

Any other Duelists or one of the initiators.

Favorite Weapon and skin combo?

Aside from the Operator? Prime Vandal.

Best Map?

It’d have to be Haven.

What would you like to see from VALORANT this year?

I love VALORANT’s approach to the game overall, and honestly if they just keep doing that I’m content with it. I love how they are always changing the meta. These new Agents always have the impact to change the meta right away, depending on how they are being played.

Otherwise I’d love to see more maps. I know a new map just came out, but I was waiting for it for a while. I actually love [Breeze], I’ve played it a lot. I can’t say it’s my favorite map yet but it might become my favorite map.