Xtra Spark: Meet the Indian esports team that won at the 2024 Battlegrounds Mobile India Series

Team XSpark, winners of Battlegrounds Mobile India Series 2024.

If Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) is the cricket of esports, team XSpark are its undisputed champions, clinching the trophy at the 2024 BGIS (Battlegrounds Mobile India Series) event and pocketing the winning prize of Rs 60 lakh.

Esports is a competitive video-gaming which is picking up pace in India with more players, bigger prize pools and more opportunities to build a career.

Prominent esports titles almost doubled to 19 in 2023, with 18 lakh Indians participating in them. Esports teams are expected to increase to 35 this year from last year's 22, giving more hope to aspiring esports athletes.

While the prize money team XSpark won or the growing universe of esports sounds lucrative, the journey to be one of the top esports teams has not been easy for its players Shubham Ranjan Sahoo, Sarangajyoti Deka, Harsh Malik, and Tenzin Kelsang, all aged between 23 to 25 years. They are now looking to make history by aiming to win three top tournaments in a single year.

XSpark is owned by 28-year-old Tanmay Singh, a renowned esports player who was also among the first players to stream the popular game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), which was banned in India in 2020.

What good can come out of playing video games? How can you build a career in esports? These are some of the questions that every esports player in India have to deal with. The situation was no different for Sahoo, Deka and Malik.

Beginners battle

"My parents were not happy when they saw me playing video games and they would always tell me to play some physical sports. Every time I would seek permission for tournaments that were being organised in a different state, they would get worried. I had a hard time explaining to my parents about where I was going and why," said Deka, who has won $48,491 in prize money from around 27 tournaments.

This is pretty much the story of every beginner in esports in India, said team XSpark's coach Rahul Sharma, who was signed in January this year. He too had a tough time convincing his parents about his passion for esports.

"My parents too told me to concentrate on my studies. They would tell me, playing video games till 12 in the night will not do me any good. But then when I started earning through esports matches/tournaments, they started supporting me. They told me if I have come this far, then I have the potential to do something bigger in this field," Sharma said.

While Kelsang's parents supported him right from the beginning, they always told him to concentrate on his studies because one should always have a backup plan ready, he chuckled.

Passion for video games, a steady income from tournaments and social media changed the views of Deka's parents about a career in esports.

"When they saw me doing good in this field and saw me having a steady income, that's when they felt secure about what I was doing," he said.

Also read: First-ever Olympic Esports Games to take place in 2025; will offer more opportunity for Indian esports

Deka and many other esports players' dedication for their game brings to memory Aamir Khan's famous life lesson from the 2009 release 3 Idiots. "Success Ke Peeche Mat Bhaago, Excellence Ka Peecha Karo, Success Jhak Maarke Tumhare Peeche Ayegi (Pursue excellence, and success will follow)."

Excelling in their game was the only option to continue in esports.

"I am from Haryana ,so mostly people join the army. But my interest in esports did not go down well with my parents. Initially, they would take my phone away and would restrict my game time to an hour. Later, when I joined an esports organisation where I was provided a phone and a salary, my parents started seeing my potential in esports," said Malik.

India is home to many esports organisations like Revenant Esports, 8 Bit, Gods Reign, among others, that hire esports athletes and provide them with training as well as salaries.

The source of income of these organisations is a mix of sponsorship revenue and prize money, by selling broadcasting or streaming rights of esports matches to platforms like Loco (esports and live game streaming platform), and YouTube, by selling merchandise of teams, among others.

Sahoo's parents too started believing in him when they saw him winning and earning from esports. "I had requested them to give me some time and to trust me. They did that and their patience and trust paid off," he said.

Malik and Sahoo have earned $42,063 and $67,825, respectively, as prize money.

Earnings via esports

Deka pointed out that when BGMI boomed in India, so did the esports industry in the country and player salaries. To add context, BGIS' prize pool doubled to Rs 2 crore this year from Rs 1 crore last year.

"Currently, the starting salary of amateurs is around Rs 50,000 per month. A pro player's income can go up to Rs 2-3 lakh per month. On top of that, if you count social media earnings, then income from esports gets more lucrative."

Brand deals can add another Rs 1-2 lakh to an esports player's income who has a following of 100,000. An athlete with a 500,000 following on social media can earn as high as Rs 5 lakh per brand deal, Deka noted.

He added that when compared with international esports players, there is no pay gap versus their Indian counterparts. However, Deka said that India lacks traction for games other than BGMI.

"Those playing BGMI earn well. On the other hand, players in other esports games see lower income. More variety of games will grow the esports industry further in India," Deka said.

Revenue of the esports industry grew to Rs 3,800 crore last year from Rs 3,100 crore in 2022, according to an FICCI-EY 2024 report. The industry is expected to touch Rs 4,700 crore this year.

TV telecast

Along with higher revenue, esports being telecast on television, like cricket and football, are seen as a big leap for the industry.

It was in 2022 when BGMI Masters became the first esports franchise to be broadcast in India by Star Sports Network. Team

"Esports coming on TV is a big thing because in India, esports was looked down upon. Now, when people see esports tournaments being telecast on a major channel, they feel they can pursue a career in this industry. It is a big thing for esports," said Sahoo.

Aiming for a record

After BGIS, team XSpark is eyeing trophies at upcoming top tournaments, including BGMI Master series and Battlegrounds Mobile India Pro Series (BMPS) 2024.

"We have achieved 30-40 percent of our goal for this year and now we want to become the first team to win three major tournaments in a year," Sharma said.

Beyond BGMI

Preparations for the Master series, which is scheduled from July 19 to August 11, has already begun.

"The Master series is a major tournament. For practice, we play 6-7 matches daily. One match lasts up to 30 minutes," said Deka, adding that their practice sessions with the team lasts up to 6-7 hours in a day, followed by individual practice.

He said that to the world outside of esports, playing competitive video game seems easy but it takes hours of practice and dedication to make a mark in this field of sports.

"Like other sports, it takes the same effort and training to improve skills in esports, Deka said, adding that there is scope of growth in India for esports.

BGMI, which is exclusively available in India, rules the roost.

Mobile games are expected to continue to dominate the gaming pie in terms of spends, noted a 2024 report by market research firm Niko Partners. Mobile games account for 77.9 percent of total gaming revenue, followed by PC at 14.5 percent share and console at 7.7 percent.

Meanwhile, international esports markets like China, Korea, and the US have a big fanbase for PC games like Counter Strike, League of Legends.

"In India, it is only BGMI that is booming and no other game is as big. Fans are also concentrated towards one game. With more games, we can have more fan following. It is important for other games to boom for more opportunities," Deka said.

The makers of BGMI, video game publisher Krafton, had suffered a setback when its popular game PUBG was banned in India in 2020. More than two years later, the company staged a comeback in India with BGMI, which, too, was banned in 2022 by the Indian government. Since BGMI's unban in 2023, the game's popularity has only increased with an estimate of over 100 million players.

Krafton India CEO Sean Hyunil Sohn recently said in an interview to Moneycontrol that India has the potential to grow and it is the top esports market in terms of growth potential. "Because of BGMI’s success in India, the country is within the top five markets in terms of revenue for Krafton," he had said.

Also read: BGMI's success led India in top 5 esports markets; more acquisitions on cards: Krafton India CEO

The cherry on the top for India's growing esports market is esports making its way into Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on July 12 that the inaugural Olympic Esports Games will take place in Saudi Arabia in 2025.

On this announcement, the esports industry said that the recognition in Olympics will further legitimise esports as a career option, and more parents will now support their children in pursuing careers in this field which will elevate the professional landscape of competitive gaming in India.