If you have spent the last few months following BGMI esports in India, you probably have a good idea of what to expect from Team SouL, Gladiators Esports, Team 8Bit and the other Indian representatives at BMIC 2026.
The overseas teams are a different story.
South Korea and Japan will send five teams each to Mumbai for the Battlegrounds Mobile India International Cup, which runs from 30th October to 1st November. These teams have earned their places through their own regional competitions. Some arrive with international experience, while others have a chance to introduce themselves to a much wider audience.
You do not need to know every player before the first match. But knowing a little about these teams will make the tournament more interesting to follow.
Why is Nongshim RedForce attracting attention? What makes Japan’s Valor an interesting team? How does DRX’s status as defending champion fit into this year’s competition? And which lesser-known squads could surprise everyone?
Let’s meet the 10 teams from South Korea and Japan.
First, how did these teams qualify?
BMIC 2026 features 16 teams, including six from India, five from South Korea and five from Japan.
The Korean teams qualified through two tournaments. Nongshim RedForce and Dplus earned their slots through the Korean Esports League (KEL) 2026. DRX, FOCUS and GAME PT qualified through PUBG Mobile Pro Series (PMPS) Season 2.
Japan’s five representatives came from PUBG Mobile Japan League (PMJL) Season 6 Phase 2. Valor finished first, followed by REIGNITE, Versus, MAKING THE ROAD and KINOTROPE gaming.
That distinction matters. Each team has earned its place through a regional competition, but the point totals from those leagues cannot be compared directly. Their formats, match counts and competitive environments differ.
The most useful starting point is each team’s recent performance, its history and the players who connect its story to the wider PUBG Mobile scene.
South Korea: Five teams to know
1. Nongshim RedForce: One of the strongest teams to watch
Qualification: KEL 2026 champion
Nongshim RedForce are a good place to start if you want to understand the Korean contingent.
The team won KEL 2026 with 213 points, finishing well ahead of runner-up Dplus. Nongshim also finished second at the PUBG Mobile World Cup 2026, giving it a recent result against international opposition.
Those achievements make Nongshim one of the teams to watch at BMIC. They do not guarantee a title, of course. A 16-team tournament can change quickly, particularly when teams face opponents they rarely meet in their domestic leagues.
Nongshim players you should remember
XZY is a useful name to learn first. He won the KEL 2026 Finals MVP award, making him one of the standout players from the Korean season.
HYUNBIN has a direct connection to BMIC’s history. He won the MVP award at BMIC 2025 while representing DRX. He now plays for Nongshim, which gives this year’s tournament a familiar face from the previous championship.
SOEZ is another player connected to DRX’s earlier championship era who is now associated with Nongshim.
TIZ1 is also part of the team’s current roster.
For a new viewer, the simplest takeaway is this: Nongshim arrive with a strong domestic result, recent international experience and a player, HYUNBIN, = who already knows what it feels like to win BMIC.
2. Dplus: Nongshim’s domestic rival
Qualification: KEL 2026 runner-up
Dplus finished second behind Nongshim at KEL 2026. They also placed sixth at BMIC 2025, so this is not a team arriving without experience of the event.
The organisation may already be familiar to people who follow international esports beyond mobile gaming. For BGMI fans, the relevant point is its recent PUBG Mobile form and the players on its roster.
The roster includes Nolbu, Cyxae, chpz, Porico, FAVIAN, and Auto.
Cyxae is particularly interesting because he links Dplus to the earlier DRX championship lineup. That connection helps explain why this year’s Korean teams have more shared history than their organisation names might suggest.
Dplus have a clear challenge ahead. They need to turn their domestic form into a strong international performance, with Nongshim providing a natural point of comparison.
3. DRX: The defending champions
Qualification: PMPS Season 2
DRX won the inaugural BMIC in 2025 with 166 points. HYUNBIN took the MVP award and QX was named Best IGL.
The organisation returns to Mumbai as defending champion, but its current lineup is different from the team that won last year.
Qxzzz (also known as QX) is the central name in DRX’s story. He is joined in the current lineup by BINI, Hoxy and TRE.
That makes DRX one of the easiest teams to follow if you enjoy the human side of esports. A defending champion has expectations to manage, and a rebuilt lineup has to create its own identity rather than simply rely on a previous trophy.
There is a wider Korean connection, too. HYUNBIN and SOEZ are now associated with Nongshim, whereas Cyxae plays for Dplus. Players who once shared a championship campaign will now be competing against one another.
DRX qualified through PMPS Season 2, but that alone does not make them favourites. Nongshim’s more recent results put pressure on the defending champions to prove they can still compete at the top.
4. FOCUS: A team worth getting to know
Qualification: PMPS Season 2
FOCUS may not have the same international recognition as Nongshim, Dplus or DRX, but they earned their place at BMIC through the Korean competition.
FOCUS’ roster includes Hyde, Mahito, Mammoth, Newjeans and Rizzz.
For fans who are new to the Korean scene, FOCUS offer a chance to discover players outside the region’s best-known organisations.
Their BMIC campaign will be a test of how they handle unfamiliar opponents and the pressure of a three day international event. A strong opening could put them in contention early, whereas a slow start would leave them chasing points.
5. GAME PT: Another Korean side with something to prove
Qualification: PMPS Season 2
GAME PT (also referred to as Daejeon GAME PT) secured one of South Korea’s five BMIC places through PMPS Season 2.
The team’s roster includes AaRon, JAEMIN, JAESUK and Sentinel.
GAME PT do not arrive with the same recent international headline results as Nongshim. That does not make them irrelevant. Every team in a large-lobby tournament has a chance to affect the standings, and one good day can change the way people view an unfamiliar squad.
For Indian fans, GAME PT are worth watching as a discovery team. Learn their names, see how they approach the opening matches and judge their performance from what happens in the lobby rather than their reputation before the event.
Japan: Five teams from a close domestic race
Japan’s five representatives qualified through PMJL Season 6 Phase 2. The final standings were relatively close, with 45 points separating first place from fifth across the phase.
That does not mean the teams are identical in strength. It does mean there is a good reason to follow the whole Japanese contingent rather than assume that only the champion can challenge the field.
1. Valor: Japan’s champions
Qualification: PMJL Season 6 Phase 2 champion
Valor won PMJL Season 6 Phase 2 with 341 points, seven Chicken Dinners and 193 eliminations. They finished ahead of REIGNITE, who ended the phase on 328 points.
Those numbers give Valor a strong domestic record heading into BMIC. The team has shown that it can win matches and accumulate points across a long league phase.
But the most interesting part of Valor’s story may be its roster.
The roster includes ę³°åæ, p1r, DokC, Missile and ć”ć½ć¾ć. Notably, DokC and Missile are South Korean players, whereas the other three are Japanese.
That makes Valor a mixed-nationality lineup. It is also a team with a connection to Nongshim. DokC previously played for the Korean organisation before moving to Valor.
DokC won PMJL’s Most Kills award, adding an individual achievement to Valor’s league title. His presence makes the team worth following for anyone interested in how players adapt when they move between regional competitions.
The official Valor profile describes its style as fluid movement built around individual player strengths. It also identifies Miramar as a preferred map. That is a useful detail to keep in mind during the matches, although one stated preference should not be treated as a guarantee of success on that map.
2. REIGNITE: Japan’s runner-up
Qualification: PMJL Season 6 Phase 2 runner-up
REIGNITE finished second in Japan with 328 points. They recorded seven Chicken Dinners and 196 eliminations, both strong figures across the phase.
The roster includes Nagon, miz, YamaK and Taiki.
REIGNITE also appeared at BMIC 2025, where they finished 12th. Their second-place finish in Japan this year gives them another opportunity to perform on an international stage.
That is a useful story for fans to follow. Domestic form and international results are different tests, and REIGNITE now have a chance to see how much progress they have made since their previous BMIC appearance.
The gap between Valor and REIGNITE was only 13 points. That gives the Japanese teams a domestic rivalry to carry into Mumbai.
3. Versus: Close behind Japan’s top two
Qualification: Third place in PMJL Season 6 Phase 2
Versus finished third in Japan with 321 points, just seven behind REIGNITE.
The roster includes Ace, Breaker, BBZz, Reeey, KA2U and Nack.
Versus are close enough to Japan’s leading teams on recent results to merit attention. Their challenge at BMIC will be to reproduce that consistency against opponents from two other regions.
A tournament with 18 matches rewards more than one spectacular performance. Teams need to find a way to remain competitive across all three days.
4. MAKING THE ROAD: The team with the biggest elimination total
Qualification: Fourth place in PMJL Season 6 Phase 2
MAKING THE ROAD (MTR) finished fourth in Japan with 319 points.
Their most striking number was 221 eliminations, the highest total among the five Japanese teams that qualified. Yet MTR recorded only one Chicken Dinner during the phase.
That contrast makes them an interesting team to follow. High elimination totals suggest a squad that can find fights, but eliminations alone do not guarantee match wins. Positioning, survival and decisions in the final circles all affect the result.
The roster includes REX, PINEå°, Garnet and Aibo.
If MTR can turn its fighting output into more wins, it could climb the standings quickly. If not, its results may once again show the difference between winning fights and winning matches.
5. KINOTROPE gaming: A team that should not be overlooked
Qualification: Fifth place in PMJL Season 6 Phase 2
KINOTROPE gaming finished fifth among Japan’s qualifiers with 296 points. The team recorded five Chicken Dinners and 195 eliminations.
The five wins are worth remembering. Despite finishing behind the other four Japanese teams, KINOTROPE showed that it could close out matches during the league phase.
The roster includes Naoto, Sporta, OZISAN and TAMR4. Notably, Sporta and TAMR4 are South Korean players.
KINOTROPE also has experience at previous international events, though its earlier appearances involved a different lineup. That history provides context, but it should not be treated as proof that the current squad will achieve the same results.
For viewers who enjoy following an underdog, KINOTROPE is a good team to keep on the watchlist.
Five international players to remember
You do not need to memorise every roster to enjoy BMIC. Start with a handful of players whose recent achievements or team histories give them a clear story.
XZY (Nongshim RedForce):
The KEL 2026 Finals MVP. His recent performance makes him one of the Korean players to watch.
HYUNBIN (Nongshim RedForce):
The BMIC 2025 MVP, now playing for Nongshim. He connects this year’s tournament to the previous championship.
Qxzzz (DRX):
A key returning player from the defending champions. He won the Best IGL award at BMIC 2025.
DokC (Valor):
A former Nongshim player who won PMJL’s Most Kills award with Valor. His move links the Korean and Japanese teams.
Nagon (REIGNITE):
A player to track on Japan’s runner-up team. REIGNITE’s recent results give the squad a strong starting point for BMIC.
What makes this year’s international field interesting?
The appeal of BMIC 2026 is not simply that Indian teams will face opponents from two other countries. It is that the tournament brings together teams with different histories and recent results.
Nongshim RedForce arrive after winning KEL and finishing second at PMWC. DRX return as defending champions with a changed lineup. Dplus have a chance to challenge their domestic rivals on another stage.
Japan’s teams bring their own competition into the event. Valor won PMJL, REIGNITE finished second, and Versus followed closely behind. MAKING THE ROAD’s high elimination count raises questions about its ability to close matches, while KINOTROPE’s five wins make it worth watching.
The results from each region give us a starting point. They cannot tell us exactly what will happen when the teams meet in Mumbai.
That is part of the fun. As the tournament unfolds, players who are unfamiliar today could become names Indian fans remember.
