A new trend has emerged on social media platforms where numerous official pages are posting videos featuring songs from India. This phenomenon can be attributed to the fact that India currently has the highest number of Instagram users in the world. Additionally, India is gaining importance in the realm of mobile esports. For the first time, two Indian teams will participate in the upcoming PUBG Mobile World Championship (PMGC) 2025 in Bangkok. Let’s explore the impact of India’s inclusion in the upcoming PMGC 2025.
Image Credits: Bryan Francis
India, with an estimated population of 1.46 billion, is the most populous country in the world and has the fourth-highest GDP. A significant portion of Indian gamers are focused on mobile gaming, with Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) being one the most popular game in the country. This is the Indian variant of PUBG Mobile, developed by Krafton India in compliance with local laws. Since its relaunch in 2023, BGMI has experienced significant growth, ranking as the second-highest-grossing game on the Google Play Store.
Back in 2023, to announce the return of the game, Krafton India hosted Battlegrounds Mobile India Series (BGIS) 2023. This tournament was the first official event sponsored by Krafton India. The broadcast of the tournament reached a peak of 233,610 spectators, while the arena was a full house with over 6,000 fans watching the grand finals. Since then, the publisher has hosted BGIS and Battlegrounds Mobile India Pro Series (BMPS) in 2023 and 2024. As a regional game, there was no current path for players to participate in global PUBG Mobile events; however, that changed in 2025. According to Krafton India, BMPS 2025 had live attendance of over 15,000 spectators on the final day of the tournament.
Following BGIS 2025 in Calcutta, rumours circulated that Krafton India would offer teams the opportunity to participate in the upcoming PUBG Mobile World Cup during the Esports World Cup 2025. Before the start of PMWC 2025 in India, BMPS 2025 was taking place. During this event, an announcement by the Esports World Cup Foundation confirmed that the winner of the event would receive a spot at the upcoming PMWC 2025.
This announcement was a significant achievement for fans of BGMI Esports, as it presented an opportunity for players from India to participate in one of the world’s largest mobile esports tournaments. Furthermore, it opened new avenues for teams to generate revenue from the $3 million prize pool of the PMWC. Team Aryan emerged as the winners of BMPS 2025, comprising underdogs driven by the dream to raise the Indian flag.
A key reason for India’s inclusion in the event was the expectation of increased viewership during the EWC 2025, which indeed materialized. According to Escharts PMWC 2024 reached a peak viewership of 566,118, while PMWC 2025 surpassed 1,388,918 viewers. Indian content creator Snax Gaming garnered a peak viewership of 166,892, the highest for any streamer hosting a watch party during the event.
Following EWC 2025, everyone wondered whether India’s success in the PMWC would result in the nation securing a slot at the PMGC 2025. Krafton India had initiated the bidding process for the BGMI Franchising League at this time. Many believed the winner of this event would secure a spot in the upcoming PMGC 2025. Due to not getting enough bids for all 24 cities, the idea for the Franchising League was scrapped.
As fans wondered if they would see another BGMI tournament in 2025, Krafton India announced a 4-week-long tournament called the BGMI Showdown (BMSD). Within this tournament, 48 teams from India would be invited. The winner of this event would receive a spot at the PMGC 2025 Gauntlet Stage. The top 7 teams during the Gauntlet phase of the tournament would secure a place in the PMGC 2025 Grand Finals.
Prominent Indian teams, such as iQOO Soul, Godlike Esports, Gods Reign, True Rippers, Orangutan, and K9 Esports, reached the grand finals of BMSD 2025. After an intense three-day competition, iQOO Orangutan emerged as champions, securing their spot in the PMGC 2025 Gauntlet phase. This marked a significant milestone for BGMI Esports, as it was the first time in nearly three years that an Indian team would compete in an international PUBG Mobile event.
But the story wasn’t done just yet. Krafton India had announced a second event known as the Battlegrounds Mobile International Cup (BMIC) 2025. Within BMIC 2025, the top 8 teams from BMSD 2025 would qualify from India. Four teams from Korea and four teams from Japan would also be eligible to participate. The winner of BMIC 2025 would receive a gauntlet spot for PMGC 2025. On the other hand, the runner-up would secure a spot in the group stage of the tournament in Bangkok.
BMIC 2025 was held in Delhi at the Yaashwaboomi Indoor Stadium. The arena has a capacity of over 6000 fans, with each of the 3 days of the grand finals being sold out. During the grand finals, the arena was filled with passionate Indian fans hoping to see their favourite teams win the event and secure a spot in the upcoming Global Championship. One of the teams that were the favourites to win the event was DPlus Kia from South Korea. They are the reigning champions of PMGC 2025. Another team to watch out for was DRX from South Korea.
After three thrilling days, DRX emerged as the winners of BMIC 2025, with True Rippers from India finishing as the runners-up. True Rippers secured their place in the PMGC 2025 Group Stage by just one point. The crowd’s reaction at that moment was priceless once they realized that another Indian team would be playing at an international tournament. When True Rippers went to receive their runner-up medals, the arena erupted with cheers, with fans shouting the name of the IGL of the team, Jelly.
During the PUBG Mobile Global Championship in 2024, the tournament had a peak viewership of 985,418 viewers. This occurred on the last day of the tournament. It won’t be wrong to assume that this record will be easily broken this year. With the inclusion of two teams from India, the event is expected to receive one of the highest viewerships in PMGC history. The most-watched PUBG Mobile event was the PMGC 2020 with 3.8 million viewers.
Breaking that record will be a significant challenge. If an Indian team reaches the grand finals and has a chance to win on the last day, viewership could peak at around 2.5 million active viewers. The odds of this happening are relatively slim, but Orangutan has the chance of securing a top 7 spot in the Gauntlet phase to reach the grand finals. Additionally, if PUBG Mobile grants watch party access to creators in India and Southeast Asia, the upcoming PMGC 2025 may have the potential to break multiple records.
The PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2025 will take place in Bangkok between November 24 and December 14.
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