The esports community in India has witnessed a steady increase since its introduction into the country only recently. Its growth right now is significant, and with the right investments and support, Indian gamers could compete globally and win. Gone are the days when video games were seen as a time-pass activity; those who never took it seriously now do. Those who play professionally are now called athletes, and the activity itself is referred to as “Esports.”
Esports refers to the popular and professional competition form that replaces using video games, featuring professional players of different games. Esports entails well-organized, multiplayer video game competitions that roll out between professional players of different types of video games. Esports’ popularity in India and worldwide is rising steadily and consistently, featuring top Indian teams with the best players. The best Indian esports teams have remained in the top ten since the evolution of the era of video gaming.
India isn’t left out of the rapid expansion of the esports scene; it begins with basic esports games and expands. The growth of mobile gaming in the country has resulted in numerous mobile gaming Indian esports teams. Being the best in esports in India is a big deal, particularly because the country has a huge talent pool.
This article examines esports and its global growth as well as the role top Indian gaming teams are playing in shaping its future.
The Growth of Esports Worldwide
Gaming has grown considerably in the last few years; it is now well recognized locally across India and globally. Companies not related to gaming are spending large sums of money to sponsor advertisements and prizes in major tournaments. In China, there is a complex reportedly rumored to be for esports; Chinese-run websites report the complex to have about 10,000 aspiring esports players.
According to the news, the gaming complex in China generates 140 million US dollars in tax revenues. The gaming industry in India is still pretty young, but it is growing, and soon it could stand side-by-side with gaming-centric countries. Many companies like JetSynthesis and Nazara technologies are showing interest, with world-renowned companies opening gaming centers in the country. For example, Nvidia, one of the largest graphics card manufacturers, recently opened its gaming centers in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore.
The Top Indian Gaming Teams Shaping the Future of Esports
Indian gamers generally perform awesomely in global gaming events, but some stand out among others. Below are the four best Indian gaming teams leading the Indian gaming community and shaping its future worldwide.
Team Wolf
Team Wolf is one of the best CS:GO teams in India; it is led by Simar Sethi, also known as “psy.” They were the only team invited to the 2014 ESL One held in Cologne, Germany. The team faced a Swedish team, NiP, in their first group stage game and won, although they didn’t make it through the group stage. Still, they had a remarkable performance to put them on the map as game changers in Indian esports.
The CS:GO community hardly favored, much less exalted, an esports team until Team Wolf’s prowess caught their attention. The overall results from the ESL One 2014 featured Team Wolf defeating NiP and Hellraisers, which makes them a remarkable team. Unfortunately, there aren’t very many pro-CS:GO players in India because 95% of gamers are noobs, of which 25% are rich. These 25% rich pro-CS:GO players play PUBG mobile and Garena on emulators.
Team Wolf members include Ritesh Shah, Ayush Deora, Aakash, Mithil Sawant, and Jigar Mehta. Apart from being the best, Team Wolf is also the most popular CS:GO team in India who has qualified for ESL One 2014. While they didn’t win a single match in Cologne, they did manage to establish a good connection with 34-year-old Serbian Aleksander. Serbian is also referred to as “kassad;” he coached the team for a short time during the major tournament.
The Terrifying Nightmares
The Terrifying Nightmares team is another team of highly talented Indian gamers who made their country in major PUBG tournaments. PUBG mobile is a well-known game among gamers worldwide, recording over 100 million downloads. In a Star Challenge finals held in Dubai, the Terrifying Nightmare emerged as one of the qualifying teams. The team, consisting of Mehul Dey, Sakriya Puri, Amit Sharma, and Arnand Puri, was one of the twenty teams qualified for the challenge.
The Terrifying Nightmares team participated in the PUBG Mobile Campus Championship held in 2018 and won, taking home prize money of 15 lakhs. The team is a Mumbai-based band of players skilled in the battle royale game PUBG, a game that requires strategy. The Terrifying Nightmares built a strategy to win the game at the advanced levels, focusing on aggressive play and attacking from good positions.
Having won this Championship, the team aims to reach the Conqueror tier in PUBG Mobile in the fourth season. All four team members come from different backgrounds, including engineering, hotel management, and the medical profession. First, they bonded over their love for playing PUBG casually; later, they chose to try their luck in the Championship. They maintained a relaxed approach during each match, their passion exuding; however, the relaxed approach changed in the semi-finals.
Team Brutality
Team Brutality is a Mumbai-based CS:GO team led by Ankit “V3nom” Panth; V3nom is his gaming name. Ankit is the face of the team and the most loved player in all of India – and he is only 26. Brutality is backed by prominent companies in India, including Corsair, Intel, and Dell Gaming, which helped it make records. Team Brutality has participated in and aced several gaming events, including the SoStrong GetStrong #1 Tournament held in 2016.
Team Brutality participated in the SoStrong GetStrong #1 Tournament 2016 and ESL cup 2014 season 4, among others, and won. The face of the team, Ankit, is an inspiration to many upcoming CS:GO players in India hoping to go pro. Since its inception, Team Brutality has had different players, often stand-ins because many of its players are part-timers. Ankit Panth and Aakash “RiX” More are the founders and co-owners of the team and the only constant team members.
India’s leading technology company, Dell, has focused on enabling Team Brutality to enhance its esports capability with its powerful gaming systems. The team will start using high-tech gaming systems like Alienware and Dell Gaming monitors as they participate in prestigious esports in India and worldwide. India’s best esports team started small and extensively worked its way to where it is today, competing with multinationals. The brutality continues to advance towards its goal of becoming one of the top Asian teams, representing India and Asia on the world stage.
OpTic India Gaming
OpTic India Gaming team is part of the OpTic Gaming Division and one of India’s most loved esports teams. The Kolkata-based team has recorded remarkable performances in several gaming events held locally and globally, bringing home trophies. However, one of its players with a gaming name, “forsaken,” was caught cheating in eXTREMESLAND 2018, resulting in disqualification. As a result, the entire team was released from the event, and forsaken himself faced a lifetime ban, which made the Indian community angry.
The team distanced themselves from forsaken by cutting ties with him immediately after the match. The team’s director, Jesal Parekh, insisted that the remaining players in the team don’t know anything about forsaken actions. Despite the hitch in their career, the team is undoubtedly one of the best esports teams shaping India’s gaming industry. Its most notable win is the ESL India Premiership Fall, winning nearly $7,000 and qualifying for ESL Pro League Season 8.
The team has won several gaming events worldwide, including the ESL India Premiership Fall 2018. OpTic India gaming team was formed on June 1, 2018, with the signing of Antidote Marzil, formlesS, haiVaan, and forsaken. On June 12 of the same year, it signed its new coach, who later became a player. However, on October 2, 2018, formlesS was released from the team, and forsaken was caught cheating only seventeen days later.
Conclusion
There are several other remarkable esports teams in India, including Orange Rock, TSM Entity, Celtx/GSXR Celtx, and Total Gaming. Each team, along with these four, is putting the esports industry in India on the map with its prowess in tournaments. They’ve made their mark on the Indian esports scene, maintaining popularity and success in different games in the country. Two of the most popular games played in the esports scene are CS:GO and PUBG.
Esports in India have become intensely popular in this age of video game streaming, with the best players amassing millions of subscribers. Esports teams in India have emerged and drawn serious popularity through fame, fanfare, and, of course, their obvious talent. Having a career in esports in India is profitable; it is one of the most sought-after jobs among youths in the country. Even though the Indian esports industry is still new, it has the potential for popularity, reach, and earning.