Shadow is back. Revenant XSpark announced today that Tenzin “Shadow” Kelsang, the in-game leader who took Team XSpark to the BGIS and BMPS titles in 2024, has rejoined the organisation. He arrives alongside Harsh “Phoenix” Khandelwal, who won BGMI Masters Series (BGMS) Season 5 with Nebula Esports in September. The new five-player lineup makes its debut at the Chennai Esports Global Championship (CEGC) 2026.
RNTX fans have wanted this for a long time. Shadow left in August 2025, fans kept asking for his return ever since, and the organisation admits it was listening. The move also comes with a big change at the top of the team, which we will get to.
Who is Shadow, and why does his return matter?
Shadow is the IGL behind the best year in Team XSpark’s history. With him calling the shots, XSpark won the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series 2024 in June and the BGMI Pro Series 2024 in September, according to his Liquipedia profile. Winning two of India’s biggest BGMI titles in the same year does not happen often. Several players from that squad made our list of the top 5 BGMI esports players of 2024.
Team XSpark joined forces with Revenant Esports in October 2024 to become Revenant XSpark. Shadow stayed until August 15, 2025. He then had short stints with Team Versatile and, from October 2025, Meta Ninza, according to Liquipedia.
“Shadow’s return is special for us because he has been an important part of some of our biggest achievements in BGMI,” said Rohit Jagasia, founder and CEO of Revenant XSpark. “Winning BGIS and BMPS in the same year was an incredible moment for everyone associated with Team XSpark, and we know how much those memories mean to our fans. We’ve seen the community asking for his comeback, so we’re delighted to welcome him back.”
Who is Phoenix?
Phoenix is the fresh half of this deal. He was part of the Nebula Esports roster that won BGMS Season 5 in September with 210 points across 18 Grand Finals matches. Gladiators Esports finished second on 189 and iQOO Orangutan third on 187. Nebula took home ₹40 lakh, as we covered in our report on how Nebula Esports won BGMS Season 5 and the ₹40 lakh prize.
Revenant XSpark says Phoenix is 20 and has also won the Rising Championship Season 2 and the Rising Star Invitational 2026. Jagasia said he brings “fresh energy and the experience of winning BGMS this year.”
So RNTX now has a leader who has won the biggest titles, plus a young assaulter who won one only two months ago. That mix of experience and fresh legs is what the organisation is betting on.
What is Revenant XSpark’s new BGMI roster?
Here is the full lineup, as announced by Revenant XSpark:
- Joel “Tracegod” Thomas (Assualter)
- Abhijot “Pain” Singh (Assualter)
- Harsh “Phoenix” Khandelwal (Assualter)
- Tenzin “Shadow7” Kelsang (IGL)
- Shubham Ranjan “NinjaJOD” Sahoo
Explicit stays on as head coach and Chirag stays as analyst. To make room for the new signings, Sukuna and Proton have left the roster, according to the organisation.
Why is NinjaJOD no longer Revenant XSpark’s IGL?
This is the part of the move that matters most. Revenant XSpark had a disappointing BMSD 2026 Grand Finals in Hyderabad. NinjaJOD was the team’s IGL there, as he told us in our interview with him during the event. RNTX finished outside the top six and missed out on BMIC 2026 in Mumbai.
After that result, head coach Explicit said NinjaJOD will no longer lead the team in-game. He is expected to move into a frontline assaulter or support role.
Shadow takes the calls. Phoenix arrives as one of the most in-form assaulters in India after Nebula’s BGMS run. Pain, NinjaJOD and Trace stay from the previous roster.
But BGMI is played in four-player squads, so five players means one of them sits out each match. A former IGL is now competing for a spot as a frontliner or support, next to a new IGL and a BGMS-winning assaulter. Every scrim before the CEGC Grand Finals is effectively a trial. Who sits out first will tell us a lot about where this team is heading.
When will the new Revenant XSpark roster play?
The squad debuts at CEGC 2026, a Skyesports tournament with a ₹75 lakh prize pool. It started today, November 3, and runs through online stages before a three-day Grand Finals in Chennai from December 11 to 13. Revenant XSpark is in Group B of the opening stage, alongside GodLike Esports, Team Outrage, Blitz Esports and others.
That gives the new five a little over a month to find their rhythm before a LAN final. Big names do not win tournaments on their own, and Revenant XSpark says as much. Its own announcement notes that the real challenge is turning individual experience into team performance. For a returning IGL with a new set of teammates, that means learning how four other players think, and doing it fast.
The timing also lines up with the next BGMI transfer window, which opens on November 15, as KRAFTON India’s Karan Pathak told TalkEsport in our recent interview. Expect more teams to make moves like this one in the coming weeks.
How has Revenant XSpark been building lately?
This is one part of a busy year for the organisation. In 2026 it also picked up the Head Hunters Free Fire MAX roster and started a new MOBA team by signing Kyle and Kimyy as its first MOBA Legends: 5v5! picks. Its creators also collected eight honours at the India Gaming Awards Season 5 last week.
Bringing Shadow home feels different from all of that, though. This is not a new market or a new game. It’s a reunion, and for a lot of RNTX fans, that will mean more than any trophy count.
