Saumraj’s BGMI Journey Through 2021: Winning BGIS, Competing in PMGC, Goals for 2022

Skylightz Gaming proved themselves to be the best Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) team in the country following their victory at the inaugural Battlegrounds Mobile India Series (BGIS) tournament. Their captain Saumya "Saumraj" Raj did not just guide and lead his team in the server but went above and beyond to frag at par with his teammates, ensuring that they stayed in the competition till the very last match of the tournament.

Saumraj’s efforts resulted in his team becoming the 2021 champions while he also won individual accolades like ‘The Lone Ranger’ and ‘The Rampage Freaks’ at BGIS. A stellar performance was put forth, highlighting the importance of a world-class IGL (In-Game Leader), one of the most necessary ingredients for a BGMI team to ensure its success in the long run.

AFK Gaming recently caught up with the star IGL, Saumraj, to discuss his experience playing with GodLike Esports at the PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) 2021, the journey through BGIS 2021 as they won the flagship tournament by a difference of just three points, goals for the 2022 competitive season, along with a few other things.

Journey with Skylightz Gaming through BGIS 2021

Skylightz Gaming was one of the earliest teams to step into competitive BGMI. The roster was announced in July 2021 with Saumraj as a part of the initial lineup. He had joined the team along with his teammates from FutureStation Esports - Pukar "Pukar" Singla and Tushar "GamlaBoy" Das, which made for a comfortable transition for the trio.

Saumraj did a good job of integrating Harpreet Singh "RonaK" Janjuha into the lineup, but it still took some time for the squad to achieve their first podium finish, as they placed third at both The Esports Club - BGMI Invitational Season 1 and the iQOO All Stars Cup.

From here on, Skylightz Gaming went on to become one of the top competitors within the country but despite multiple podium appearances they never won any tournaments, up until the premier BGMI event - BGIS 2021.

Talking about the team’s journey through this tournament, Saumraj as the captain for the side highlighted their final day's effort, when Skylightz scored 72 crucial points in six matches to win by a margin of just 3 points.

“We were prepared for the final day of the tournament because we knew all the other teams choke a lot on the last day and that they are not capable of handling the pressure that comes along,” explained Saumraj, further pointing out they were able to manage this pressure very well, which turned out to be an advantage for them.

Saumraj showcased what an excellent captain he is during this tournament, maneuvering and managing his squad to perfection which helped the team secure a total of three Winner Winner Chicken Dinners (WWCD).

He believes that this type of decision-making during the match was crucial for them, especially on the last day, when the level of competition between the top four BGMI teams - Skylightz, TSM, Team XO, and GodLike Esports was going neck-to-neck.

Overall, Saumraj personally feels that their performance at BGIS 2021 was definitely an improvement considering that in the last few official events they had barely made it into the top five. This time as they were the ones lifting the trophy, he is certain that the team as a whole did level up.

Individual performance and responsibilities as an IGL

Saumraj while accepting that Skylightz Gaming had choked in previous tournaments, still had confidence in the team’s ability until the last day of the tournament, as everything kept falling in place and they successfully dealt with the competition.

While being the shot caller for the side was one aspect at which Saumraj excelled, his unreal fragging output during the course of the tournament was astounding, as he was truly delivering to his full potential.

Commenting on one of his best plays from the tournament where he took a total of nine finishes despite being the last player alive from his team, Saumraj said that “At that point in time I was all fired up and went berserk just taking frags one after another. But I didn’t do anything randomly, I had given thought to all my moves before executing them.”

Saumraj understands the difference between committing to an objective and over-commitment by the team, which gives him that slight edge and puts him in the category of the finest BGMI captains in India.

When asked if he was a good or a great IGL, Saumraj settled for a modest “I myself don’t know, if I am good or great,”. With regards to his role and responsibilities with Skylightz Gaming he says that while everything is planned along with the team, the responsibility of executing all the plans and strategies during the match falls upon his shoulders.

Experience with GodLike Esports at PMGC 2021

Despite winning BGIS 2021, Skylightz Gaming and a few other teams faced some challenges due to which they could not compete at PMGC 2021. As GodLike Esports had all the valid documents to travel abroad, they represented India at the international tournament, taking Saumraj along with them as a stand-in for the event.

Talking about his experience competing against international teams and getting an opportunity to play alongside GodLike, Saumraj said that there was no time to prepare because this was his first time winning such a big tournament and he ended up celebrating for a lot longer.

“I had been watching PMGC since before, so I had a bit of an idea of how the other teams were performing and how we could use our strategies. Team rotations, drops, and all other things had to be reviewed for which our analyst helped us out,” explained Saumraj while giving us a sneak peak into how they prepared.

But despite their best efforts, the pressure felt by the players was on a whole different level. As top teams from all across the globe were competing against each other, Saumraj revealed that he used to feel immense pressure even when watching the games from the sidelines.

He went on to note that there was a big difference between his and GodLike’s playing style, as the latter was heavily focussed on taking frags, whereas he liked to quickly adapt to the situation and come up with a plan on the go. But despite the variance, they stuck it out well together.

GodLike Esports ended up taking 13^th place at PMGC 2021, but Saumraj ensured that the team walked away with at least one WWCD to its name, as they won the last match of the tournament which took place in Erangel.

With a great 2021 season now behind him, Saumraj is already focused on doing everything it takes to represent India at a global level by competing at upcoming events like the Asian Games 2022 and the Commonwealth Games 2022. He is determined to not just participate in these tournaments but hopefully also win a medal.

As for his current team Skylightz Gaming, though they won BGIS 2021 and are the current BGMI champions, Ammar “Destro“ Khan, ended up leaving the organization to join Chemin Esports. So a replacement player is currently being scouted and according to Saumraj, they are looking for someone who has established himself as a player but is still fairly new to the scene.

While a new player is set to join the team sometime down the line, players in the current roster might soon start streaming as revealed by Saumraj. He said all the players are interested in streaming so that is something that everyone can look forward to.

Before the interview came to an end, Saumraj teased that apart from all this Skylightz Gaming is also planning some exciting new things for the year ahead!