Battlegrounds Mobile India Series

From PMIS to BGIS: The Foundation of Indian Mobile Esports

The tournament's history began in 2019 when Tencent Games and PUBG Corporation launched the PUBG Mobile India Series with a ₹1 crore prize pool. This first event established the basic format of in-game qualifiers leading to a live grand finale. The 2019 finals in Hyderabad saw Team SouL, led by Naman Mathur, become champions, a victory that helped establish them as a dominant squad and marked a key moment for Indian esports.

The 2020 edition, with a ₹50 lakh prize pool, was forced online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with TSM-Entity emerging as winners. Following the game's ban and subsequent relaunch by Krafton as Battlegrounds Mobile India, the tournament was revived in 2021 as the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series. This BGIS 2021 season, also with a ₹1 crore prize pool, was briefly postponed as Krafton implemented an anti-cheat engine and banned nearly 1.52 million accounts to ensure competitive integrity. Skylightz Gaming won this inaugural BGIS season, earning a slot to the PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2021.

The Evolving Competitive Structure

BGIS is built on a multi-stage format designed to filter thousands of teams down to a final elite group. The early PMIS events used phases like in-game qualifiers, online rounds, quarter-finals, and semi-finals. The 2019 format, for example, started with 2000 teams from online qualifiers divided into groups, with the top four from each group advancing through several rounds until 80 squads reached round three, and finally 16 made the grand finals.

The BGIS era introduced new elements. The 2021 season progressed from in-game qualifiers for 1024 teams, through three online qualifier rounds, to quarter-finals for 64 teams, then semi-finals for 24, culminating in an online grand finals for the top 16. A major change came in 2023 with the introduction of The Grind, a stage where 256 invited professional teams competed for direct entry into later rounds. The 2024 season added a Wild Card stage, giving teams that missed semi-final qualification from round four a second chance to advance. Every season ultimately concludes with a multi-day, high-stakes LAN Grand Finals held in a major Indian city.

A Hall of Champions and Memorable Finals

Each BGIS season has produced a distinct champion and narrative. Team SouL's 2019 win in Hyderabad set the initial standard. TSM Entity claimed the 2020 title in an online finals. The 2021 BGIS crown went to Skylightz Gaming after a four-day online finals where they beat TSM by a mere three points.

The return to LAN events brought new champions to the forefront. In 2023, Gladiators Esports won the championship at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium in Mumbai before a crowd of over 6000 fans, with Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra as the chief guest. The 2024 finals in Hyderabad ended with a last-match thriller, crowning Team XSparks as champions, with Abhinav Bindra attending the ceremony. Team Versatile triumphed in Kolkata in 2025. The 2026 season in Chennai saw iQOO SOUL become champions after a dominant performance, edging out Genesis Esports in one of the closest finishes in the tournament's history.

Unprecedented Prize Pool Growth and Community Funding

The financial scale of BGIS has expanded dramatically, reflecting the tournament's rising importance. Starting at ₹1 crore in 2019 and dipping to ₹50 lakh in 2020, the purse returned to ₹1 crore for BGIS 2021. It doubled to ₹2 crore for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

A significant innovation occurred in 2025. Originally announced with a ₹2 crore prize pool, Krafton India increased it by an additional ₹1.2 crore to a record ₹3.2 crore. This 60% boost was funded by the new BGIS 2025 Crate, an in-game item that allowed fans to directly contribute, with rewards extended to the top 32 teams. This community-driven model was expanded in 2026. The initially announced ₹2 crore prize pool was doubled to a historic ₹4 crore through the Discovery Island in-game initiative. The champion's prize for the 2026 finals was ₹1 crore. This model highlights how fan engagement has become integral to financing the tournament's growth.

Mainstream Recognition and Viewership Milestones

BGIS has successfully bridged the gap between esports and mainstream Indian culture. Krafton has invited celebrated Indian athletes as chief guests for grand finals, lending significant prestige. Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra felicitated the winners in 2023, and 2008 Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra was the chief guest in 2024, with Krafton donating ₹25 lakh to his foundation.

The tournament has also achieved broadcast success. The 2026 Grand Finals set a new benchmark for Indian mobile esports, attracting over 600,000 peak concurrent viewers and becoming the most-watched BGMI tournament to date. This record viewership, combined with packed live audiences in cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Chennai, demonstrates the fan engagement BGIS commands.

The Pathway for Indian Talent

BGIS is designed as India's primary open platform for discovering and nurturing new esports talent. It brings together emerging teams and experienced organizations in a high-pressure test of skill and teamwork. The tournament's open-entry format means any squad can theoretically climb from in-game qualifiers to the national grand finals.

Success in BGIS has offered a route to the global stage. Winning the 2021 season qualified Skylightz Gaming for the PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2021 finals, though documentation issues prevented them, TSM, and Team XO from attending, passing the slot to Team GodLike instead. Beyond international opportunities, BGIS provides the experience, exposure, and financial rewards that help players establish professional careers, driving the sustainable growth of India's BGMI competitive ecosystem from the grassroots level upward.