There is not a single sport on the planet that doesn’t have its fair share of controversies and esports is no exception. Once in a while, we come across incidents that affect our feelings towards the game. The Indian esports scene in its incredible accession has faced a few hurdles that have holistically affected its growth.
The Indian esports scene goes way back and it is only natural that controversies will arise but one way or other, it has always managed to get back to its feet. In this article, we reflect on some of the controversies that took place that have impacted gamers in India in more ways than one.
Controversies in Indian Gaming and Esports
Forsaken Caught Cheating on a LAN Tournament
OpTic Gaming coming to India was music to the ears of all CSGO pros. One of the best organizations in the world willing to form a roster with Indian players would have been a doorway for other top organizations to walk down the same path. The roster consisted of Antidote, formlesS, haiVaan, Marzil, and forsaken which went on to dominate the Indian esports scene before going to eXTREMESLAND 2018 where Nikhil “forsaken” Kumawat was caught cheating on LAN. The debacle led to OpTic dissolving the roster and shutting down all operations in India, leaving the community under the supposition that this was the end of Indian CSGO.
PUBGM Banned in India
PUBGM ban in India led to a tectonic shift in the Indian mobile gaming scene. The Indian Government has always been at odds with the Chinese and upon discovering that several Chinese apps were transmitting sensitive data to servers located outside India, the government shut down a plethora of apps including PUBGM. By the time PUBGM was banned, the Indian mobile gaming scene was growing exponentially and not only did it affect its growth, but professional players, organizations, and tournament hosts all faced economic struggles that led to the scene going into turmoil. It made a comeback having complied with the latest norms but for as long as it was banned, the Indian mobile gaming industry suffered significant damage to its growth.
Team SouL vs Stalwart Esports
Two of the most popular BGMI teams in Team SouL and Stalwart Esports drama began when the list of teams for an upcoming tournament was revealed. Stalwart Esports initiated the conflict by throwing verbal jabs and posting tweets aimed at Team SouL. Stalwart Esports was accused of using their name for attention which led to 8Bit Thug mocking the Stalwart Esports’ owner who later brought up how he was demeaned by SouL. To settle the controversy 8bit Goldy suggested a Pizza challenge and the matter was considered closed upon that.
Sc0ut and MortaL Controversy
When Naman “MortaL” Sandeep Mathur quit playing PUGM professionally to focus on his streaming career, SouL decided to replace him with the next biggest name on the block Tanmay “Sc0ut” Singh who hailed from bitter rivals TEAMIND. Rightfully so, the transfer left fans of both teams unhappy but Sc0ut was the one facing severe backlash while MortaL tried calming the situation down by explaining his side but his fans were unwilling to have him on the sidelines. This incident dates back to 2019 and while the trolling has stopped, we cannot downplay the disruption it caused among two of the best players in the country.
Team Mahi’s ‘Sentinel’ Disturbing Comments on ‘Nirbhaya’ Rape Case
Team Mahi’s owner was subjected to extreme backlash after pushing an irresponsible comment on a sensitive topic when referring to a Valorant player who got caught cheating. The Cheating incident was a hot topic of conversation among the key figures of the community and during one of the discussions he expressed how he would give the cheater the same treatment as “Nirbhaya”, a gang rape victim, got back in 2012. Suffice it to say that the comment was insensitive to begin with and Sentinel was quick to apologize.
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