Cover-Credits:
Animesh “Thug” Agarwal has established himself as one of the most notable names in the entire Indian gaming community. He is the founder and CEO (chief executive officer) of the gaming talent management agency 8bit Creatives and one of the three co-owners of the popular Indian esports organization S8UL Esports. He has played a crucial role in S8UL Esports’ success and in empowering numerous esports talents across India. Since he entered the Indian esports scene, Thug has made a name for himself in every nook and corner of the gaming world. Besides leading S8UL Esports and 8bit Creatives, Thug also works as a caster, influencer, and streamer.
8bit Thug history and esports journey
Thug was born on 5th March 1996 in Guwahati, Assam, India. During his time in School and College, he was a bright student. Thug was a Chartered Accountant (CA) aspirant, who cleared the first two levels of the CA course, and was preparing for the CA Finals. He also pursued Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Financial Risk Management (FRM). Furthermore, he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance. Thug grew fond of gaming and esports in 2015, after which he started following the Indian gaming esports scene. After he began playing PUBG Mobile, he took a year off from his studies to focus on pursuing a career in gaming.
Thug started his esports journey as a professional PUBG Mobile player in 2018. He represented India at one of the first official PUBG Mobile events – PUBG Mobile Star Challenge 2018 (PMSC 2018) Asia Finals. During this tournament, Thug had the opportunity to discuss the gaming and esports industry with Krafton’s former CEO Brendan Greene and head of localization Jay Kim, where he was enlightened about how big the industry was. Following this, he returned to India with his new perception of the industry. After his return to the country, Thug started regularly streaming on his YouTube channel and casting professional PUBG Mobile tournaments.
Companies owned by 8bit Thug
Thug left professional gaming after PMSC 2018 and merged his organization, 8bit, with another PUBG Mobile-centric organization Team SouL to form S8UL Esports. He later founded 8bit creatives in late 2020 to manage gaming talent across India. He currently owns both S8UL Esports and 8bit Creatives.
Thug leads S8UL Esports along with two other co-owners, Naman “MortaL” Mathur and Lokesh “Goldy” Jain. The co-owners have established the organization as one of the best esports organizations in India. Thug has played a crucial role in propelling the organization toward success. S8UL Esports gained a foothold in various esports titles, including Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), Pokémon Unite, Valorant, and more. As of writing this article, S8UL Esports features top-notch rosters in BGMI, Pokémon Unite, and New State Mobile. With hard work put together by the three owners and all its content creators, S8UL Esports gained recognition on the global stage when it won the prestigious “Content Group of the Year” award at the Esports Awards 2022, defeating big-league organizations like 100 Thieves, FaZe Clan, LOUD, One True King, OfflineTV, and more.
Thug also simultaneously works on 8bit Creatives and has established it as one of the leading gaming talent management agencies in India. As of writing this article, 8bit Creatives boasts over 50 popular Indian gaming content creators.
8bit Thug estimated YouTube Earnings
Thug has been active on his social media handles since he started his esports and gaming career. He started his YouTube channel in July 2018. As of writing this article, Thug has gained over 1.04 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and has collectively acquired over 81 million views. According to Social Blade, Thug’s estimated YouTube earning is between $316 USD (₹26,141 INR) to $5.1k (₹4,21,920) monthly or $3.8k (₹3,14,372) to $60.7k (₹50,21,923) annually.
He is also active on his Loco channel, where he boasts over 257k followers with 10.6 million views. Furthermore, Thug is also an influential figure on Instagram, with over 713k followers.
