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A fifth player in Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), or a substitute player, is often the player who comes in to play if one of the players on the main rosters is unavailable. It is beneficial to have a backup player on the squad since in case the main roster is underperforming or is facing health issues. BGMI esports athletes typically play and practice for competitions for 10 to 12 hours per day, hence most teams require a fifth player to rotate around to participate.
Goldy shares his thoughts on having a fifth player in the lineup
Lokesh “Goldy” Jain is the owner of S8UL Esports and 8Bit. Both of the teams compete for various titles. S8UL competes in Pokemon Unite whereas 8Bit competes in BGMI. 8Bit achieved a lot of success with their four man lineup since the return of BGMI in May. The squad recently acquired a fifth player for their roster for the Battlegrounds Mobile India Masters Series (BGMS) Season 2 event, but their performance has not suffered as a result.
In a recent live stream, Goldy shared his thoughts on having a fifth player on the team and said, “If you guys ask my personal opinion I am strictly against having a fifth player in the lineup. It's like ruining the fifth player's time and ambition to compete.”
Even though a player serves as the fifth player, or substitute player, there are numerous opportunities to learn and grow. But it should be noted that if the main roster is performing well, the fifth player will probably not play any matches.
The value of having a fifth player was demonstrated in the recently concluded BGMS Season 2. Some players were unable to participate in the event due to health reasons. Tanmay "Scout" Singh, Sahil "Omega" Jakhar, Harsh "Goblin" Paudwal, Jonathan "Jonathan" Amaral, and many others missed a couple of the matches due to health issues. As most of these teams had a fifth player their lineups were not affected as much. On the other hand Gladiator Esports only had a four man lineup and had to play some of their matches with only three players.
There are many pros and cons to having a fifth player in a team's lineup. It is not necessary to have a substitute player but such a contingency can prove useful in emergency situations.
