Team Vitality Announces Entry Into India

French esports organization Vitality has long hinted about a possible expansion into India and it seems that the big moment has finally arrived as Vitality unveils a teaser on social media via a post-reading “Bonjour India”.

Vitality Enters India

Since November last year, there have been rumours surrounding Vitality’s possible entry into the Indian esports scene. At the time it had been reported that Rewired.gg had invested EUR 14 Million for the organization’s expansion into both China and India following which just a few months back in February 2020, Team Vitality’s CEO Nicholas Maurer also spoke about their plans for expansion in India.

In an interview with The Esports Journal, Maurer said, "We are totally convinced that there's a lot of potential in India, because there is a very big interest, not only in esports, but in gaming. A lot of people are very passionate there, but it's hard to predict the time it takes for a European brand to be seen as legitimate to an Indian audience."

All these rumours and speculations have finally come true as Vitality has announced its entry into India via their social handles on both Facebook and Instagram. Though it is clear that the organization is ready to expand its business into the country, there is still no information available about its exact approach.

Previously, Maurer had said that Vitality’s approach will be to find streamers and influencers who are popular in India and then think about building teams. But with the onset of a global pandemic and PUBG Mobile getting banned in the country, the strategy could very well have been changed internally.

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India in the past year has attracted international esports organizations like Fnatic, Team SoloMid, Noble Esports, and Galaxy Racer to name a few. Many of these organizations have stuck around despite their PUBG Mobile rosters being forced to take a seat on the bench. 

Vitality already has the experience of operating multiple successful international esports teams in League of Legends, CS:GO, Rainbow 6 Siege, and Rocket League. It will be interesting to see if Vitality is able to replicate the same level of success in India as well.