Four BGMI Esports Teams That Stuck Together Through the Ban

Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) emerged as one of the most popular games in the country, captivating both casual players while encouraging a booming esports industry. The game witnessed the rise of numerous third-party and official tournaments featuring substantial prize pools. Consequently, several organizations assembled competitive teams to compete for these lucrative rewards.

Unfortunately, the government's decision to ban the game temporarily disrupted the aspirations of many teams. However, amidst this setback, a handful of teams managed to navigate the challenges and sustain their operations. Let's explore four such resilient teams that endured the ban.

1. Team SouL 

Team SouL is a part of S8ul esports. S8UL is a prominent name in the Indian community and is known for their famous content creators and streamers. While their esports section has lineups in games such as Pokemon Unite, New State, and BGMI. Their BGMI lineup consists of;-

• Akshat “AkshaT”  Goel

• Sahil “Omega” Jakhar

• Harsh “Goblin” Paudwal

• Sohail “Hector” Shaikh

 This lineup won the Battlegrounds Mobile India Pro Series - Season 1 and played on the global stage during the PUBG Mobile World Invitational 2022. Despite the unavailability of BGMI in India, team Soul’s players stuck together. Moreover, S8ul’s co-founders stated that they plan to set up a dedicated BGMI boot camp for their lineup.

2. GodLike Esports

GodLike  Esports is an organization that has lineups in multiple games such as Valorant, Pokemon Unite, and BGMI. Moreover, GodLike takes pride in its diverse roster of gaming content creators.

The GodLike esports BGMI roster consists of:

• Abhishek “ZGOD” Choudhary 

• Suraj  “Neyoo” Majumdar

• Jonathan “Jonathan” Amaral

• Vivek “ClutchGod” Horo

        Abhijeet "GHATAK" Andhare, a notable name in the gaming industry, has been an integral part of the team. Known for their longevity, this team has been together since 2019 , previously competing as TSM-Entity India and now as GodLike. They have showcased their dominance by securing multiple titles, such as PMCO Split 2022, Skyesports Championship 3.0  and an impressive second place in the BGMI Master Series.

3. Blind eSports

Blind eSports has recently acquired a fresh lineup consisting of the former Global Esports BGMI team. While they may adopt a new team name, the roster remains intact.

• Khush “Jokerr”  Singh

• Mohammad “Manya”Raja

• Nakul “NakuL” Sharma

• Manpreet “Rony” Singh 

This squad's most notable achievement is winning the BGMI Master Series. Rushindra Sinha, the founder of Global Esports (GE), mentioned that the players and GE could not align on the vision. Therefore, it was deemed most beneficial for the squad to pursue what they believed was in their best interest.

4. Orangutan Gaming

Orangutan is a multi-faceted organization operating in three verticals - Esports, Talent Management, and Apparel. Its esports section has lineups in Valorant, BGMI, and Pokemon Unite. 

• Ashish “Ash” Bhatnagar

• Manoj “Believe ” Kumar

• Shubham “Drigger” Quiriyal

• Ankit “AK” Shukla

• Faraz “WizzGOD” Khan

Despite the ban, Orangutan retained the players who formed the team and exhibited a remarkable performance in the BGMI Showdown 2022, securing the second position. Additionally, the team's achievements extended to the BGMI Master Series, where they secured an impressive third-place finish. Despite the ban's impact, the players decided to remain together and continue their journey under Orangutan's banner.

With the return of BGMI on the horizon, an intriguing clash awaits as the seasoned esports teams go head-to-head with the new challengers. Will these teams be able to dominate the new teams, or will the latter take the spotlight? Irrespective of the outcome, viewers are in for an exciting spectacle, eagerly anticipating the competitive battles ahead.