Amplifying the excitement amongst the Indian Esports community came the much-anticipated announcement of Krafton’s biggest and first official tournament of BGMI since the game’s return. With the high-profile tournament just around the corner, the country’s Esports community is bracing itself to showcase its world-class talent and make a mark on the video-gaming landscape.
While this is the inaugural official tournament of BGMI this year, the last such official event hosted by the game’s publisher took place from May to June of 2022, shortly before the game was banned by the government. The tournament called ‘Battlegrounds Mobile Pro India Series (BMPS) Season 1’ had a whopping prize pool of INR 2 crore and was thrillingly conquered by Team SOUL.
The team’s star player Harsh Paudwal also known as SOUL GOBLIN who set the stage on fire with his dazzling performances in BMPS 2022 is looking forward to replicating his performances in the upcoming tournament. “It has been a long wait, but we are thrilled that BGMI’s first official event is finally here. The excitement within not just our team but also throughout the entire gaming community is through the roof,” he says.
Talking about his team’s preparations Harsh, who also won the MVP award at BMPS 2022 reveals, “Being the reigning champions of the country’s last official tournament of the game, team SOUL has been training tirelessly for this moment to reclaim our throne. All of us were strategizing and grinding consistently to stay in shape during the game’s absence, and now it is time to showcase it on the big stage and make our mark. While we are going into the tournament with a winning mindset, we have also analyzed our opponents’ strategies by studying their past performances to be well-prepared for whatever they throw our way.”
The proficient squad comprises Sohail Shaikh (SOUL Hector), Akshat Goel (SOUL Akshat), Sahil Jakhar (SOUL Omega), and Naman (SOUL Neyo).
“Our fans and supporters have been behind us all this time, and we want to make them proud. So, expect us to bring our A-game and take the stage by storm,” adds Harsh.
Alongside Team SOUL, another team that is counting down the days for the big event is Team 8BIT. With Harshit Yadav (8BIT Beast), Vishwas Battoo (8BIT Juicy), Dhruv Gaur (8BIT Madman), and Shubh (8BIT Mighty) in its ranks, the team was recently crowned champions of ‘Ranbhoomi Season 2’ where they toppled some of the best teams in the country.
Setting sights on continuing their winning momentum, Harshit Yadav also known as 8BIT BEAST shares his thoughts on the forthcoming BGMI tournament by saying, “Having waited for so long, we have been eagerly anticipating the first official tournament of BGMI. The excitement is running high, and our team is ready to utilize the countless hours of practice to perform at our absolute best.”
“We have been working on improving our gameplay from all aspects, and when it comes to strategies, we have some surprises up our sleeves. Our overall aim is to bring a fresh approach to the game and dominate the competition. The team is prepared to entertain our fans and deliver world-class performances against the best teams in the country,” adds Harshit.
The ‘India Games Market’ report by Niko Partners is a testament to BGMI’s massive popularity in India as it states that nearly half of all mobile gamers from the country had played BGMI 12 months before the game’s ban. From that, 59% continued to play after the game was banned, 12% switched to another game and 29% stopped playing mobile games. Both Team SOUL and Team 8BIT will be preparing rigorously to claim the throne at the pinnacle of Indian Esports by emerging victorious in the highly-anticipated tournament.
