Amplifying the excitement amongst the Indian esports community came the much-anticipated announcement of Krafton’s biggest and first official tournament Battlegrounds Mobile India Series (BGMIS) 2023, since the game’s return. Krafton has revealed that BGMIS 2023 will have a prize pool of Rs 2,00,00,000 and the crown champion will be awarded with a cash prize of Rs 75,00,000.
Before BGMIS, Krafton will conduct BGIS: The Grind which will commence on 20 July 2023 and will feature 256 teams that will compete against each other. The Grand Finals, which will be staged as a LAN event, will be held from 12 to 14 October 2023.
While this is the inaugural official tournament of BGMI this year, the last such official event hosted by the game’s publisher took place from May to June 2022, shortly before the game was banned by the government. The tournament called ‘Battlegrounds Mobile Pro India Series (BMPS) Season 1’ had a whopping prize pool of Rs 2 crore and was thrillingly conquered by Team SouL.
The team’s star player Harsh Paudwal also known as SouL GOBLIN who set the stage on fire with his dazzling performances in BMPS 2022 is looking forward to replicating his performances in the upcoming tournament. “It has been a long wait, but we are thrilled that BGMI’s first official event is finally here. The excitement within not just our team but also throughout the entire gaming community is through the roof,” he says.
Talking about his team’s preparations Paudwal, who also won the MVP award at BMPS 2022 revealed, “Being the reigning champions of the country’s last official tournament of the game, team SouL has been training tirelessly for this moment to reclaim our throne. All of us were strategising and grinding consistently to stay in shape during the game’s absence, and now it is time to showcase it on the big stage and make our mark. While we are going into the tournament with a winning mindset, we have also analyzed our opponents’ strategies by studying their past performances to be well-prepared for whatever they throw our way.”
The proficient squad comprises of Sohail Shaikh (SouL Hector), Akshat Goel (SouL Akshat), Sahil Jakhar (SouL Omega), and Naman (SouL Neyo).
“Our fans and supporters have been behind us all this time, and we want to make them proud. So, expect us to bring our A-game and take the stage by storm,” adds Paudwal.
Alongside Team SouL, another team that is counting down the days for the big event is Team 8Bit. With Harshit Yadav (8Bit Beast), Vishwas Battoo (8Bit Juicy), Dhruv Gaur (8Bit Madman), and Shubh (8Bit Mighty) in its ranks, the team was recently crowned champions of Ranbhoomi Season 2 where they toppled some of the best teams in the country.
Setting sights on continuing their winning momentum, Harshit Yadav also known as 8Bit Bea shares his thoughts on the forthcoming BGMI tournament by saying, “Having waited for so long, we have been eagerly anticipating the first official tournament of BGMI. The excitement is running high, and our team is ready to utilise the countless hours of practice to perform at our absolute best.”