Mumbai: KRAFTON, Inc., the South Korean video game company, today announced the commencement of the first edition of iQOO BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA Series (BGIS) 2021 with a special invitation, THE GRIND. BGIS 2021 is a one of its kind tournament in India which provides the biggest yet platform for gaming enthusiasts to demonstrate their skills. The League stage “Grind Week,” will take place from December 2nd to December 10th, with the final showdown taking place on December 11th and 12th, 2021.
The iQOO BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA SERIES, available to residents of India only, received an overwhelming response, with a total registration of 664,211 players including 101,571 4-member squads. This is the first esports tournament hosted by KRAFTON following the incredible response by fans to the official launch of BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA earlier in the year. The tournament will be streamed live on BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA official channel, BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA Esports Channel, and iQOO Esports official YouTube channel
The tournament will witness 32 teams divided into four groups battling to qualify for the crown. The Grind will determine which of the 32 invited teams, as well as the players that advanced via the In-Game Qualifiers, will compete in the main event. The tournament is scheduled in a “Round Robin” format, which gives every team a chance to play the other teams in their group once in the league stage. The 16 qualifying teams will again play a series of 10 matches, and the team at the top of the leaderboard will be crowned the BGIS 2021 The Grind champion.
| Group | Teams | |||||||
| A | Team Velocity Gaming | Hydra Official | Team Forever | TeamXO | Team Chemin Esports | Orgless Five | Heroes Official | Team Insane Esports |
| B | Soul | Hyderabad Hydras | Global Esports | Nigma Galaxy | Marcos Gaming | Orangutan Gaming | Team Blind | True Rippers |
| C | Team Goodlike | Team 7Sea | Revenant Esports | Skylightz Gaming | Team 8Bit | Enigma Gaming | Team Rivalry Esports | Team Mayhem |
| D | Team X Spark | TSM | Team Incognito | ForceOne | OR Esports | Reckoning Esports | Udog India | Burnx Official |
Commenting on the launch of this event, Mr. Aneesh Aravind, Head of Publishing, India at KRAFTON, Inc., said, “We are excited to kickstart iQOO BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA SERIES 2021 as our first esports tournament. Our players love showcasing their gaming skills at the highest level and this is our endeavor to help them do that. We have received a massive response from players with over 660k registrations for the tournament, and this is a testament to the need for bringing innovative and stimulating gaming events for our fans. We will continue strengthening the BGMI Esports ecosystem and providing a platform for gaming talent to flourish.”
KRAFTON has announced a prize pool of INR 1,00,00,000 for this inaugural series, with the winner taking home the lion’s portion of INR 50 lakh. The prize money for the second and third places will be INR 25 lakh and INR 10 lakh, respectively. Looking to provide the biggest platform for competitive gaming in the country, BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA SERIES 2021 is open to residents of India only.
With this tournament, KRAFTON assures that Indian gamers will be in for some exciting times ahead, as it marks the start of a series of new content, collaborations, and esports tournaments that the firm will bring to the country. BGMI players will also be representing India in the Asian Games next year in a medalled event. From September 10th to September 25th, 2022, competitors will play on a special BGMI Asian Games Version for their chance at a gold medal.
KRAFTON, Inc. is committed to promoting responsible gaming. In line with this commitment, the company recently launched the ‘Game Responsibly’ campaign. Starting with a series of films, the campaign encourages gamers to take a pledge of taking care of themselves and their squad mates’ mental health as they take on the Battlegrounds. The campaign promotes safer and responsible gaming habits and builds awareness amongst players to cultivate safer and healthy gaming habits.