For the first time ever, two Indian squads, GodLike and Orangutan at PMWC 2026, will fly the tricolour at the PUBG Mobile World Cup, held at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from August 6-16, 2026, as part of Esports World Cup 2026. GodLike Esports qualified by winning BMPS 2026; Orangutan Gaming earned its slot by finishing first in the Krafton India Esports (KIE) Rankings with 2,110 points. Both carry enormous expectations, but the road to the $3,025,000 title is steep. Here are the five biggest challenges standing in their way.
Challenge 1: The BGMI-to-Global-Client Gap
The government of India banned PUBG Mobile in 2020, so Indian pros compete domestically only on BGMI, a separate, India-specific build that ships a few days behind the global client. Crucially, this means GodLike and Orangutan cannot practice in genuine international lobbies at home at all. Both teams therefore bootcamped in Nepal for around 25 to 26 days in July to scrim on the global server against other World Cup teams. As Orangutan’s players said on Attanki Gaming’s YouTube channel, the goal was to play international scrims and try to adapt the lobby… to get an idea of what lobby will be like at the event. No other team in the 32-side field has to build a foreign bootcamp just to play the correct version of the game.
Challenge 2: Brutal Group Draws Against Elite Opposition
The 32 teams are split into two groups of 16, each playing 12 matches; only the top five per group advance straight to the Grand Finals, ranks 6-13 drop into the Survival Stage, and the bottom three end their tournament journey. GodLike landed in Group B, the group which many fans consider the toughest group of the tournament, alongside defending PMWC champions Yangon Galacticos, plus Team Vitality, NS RedForce and Wolves Esports. Orangutan sits in Group A with South Korea’s DRX, Indonesia’s RRQ, Brazil’s FURIA, Mongolia’s Aurora Gaming, Pakistan’s 4Thrives and China’s ThunderTalk Gaming. Against this calibre of opposition, there is almost no margin for error.
Challenge 3: India’s Underwhelming International Track Record
History is not on India’s side. The nation’s best-ever finishes at global PUBG Mobile events remain OR Esports’ 2nd at PUBG Mobile World League 2020 East and GodLike’s 3rd at PMSC 2019. In the modern era the results are far thinner: GodLike finished 13th of 16 at the PMGC 2021 Grand Finals, and at PMGC 2025 Orangutan placed 35th while True Rippers came 36th, both failing to reach the finals. At PMWC 2025, India’s Team AxTMG also missed the Grand Finals (15th in the group stage with 62 points). No Indian team has medalled at a major PUBG Mobile international in years, underlining how big a breakthrough a deep run in Paris would be.
Challenge 4: A Format and Point System That Punishes Mistakes
PMWC 2026 rewards survival as much as fragging. The point system awards 10 points for a Chicken Dinner (WWCD), then 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2 for places two through six, plus one point per kill, meaning reckless aggression without placement is heavily penalised. With just 12 group games, a poor start can end a campaign fast. Teams that miss the top five must survive a knockout Survival Stage (Aug 11–12, top six advance), and the three-day Grand Finals (Aug 14–16, maximum 18 matches) close with the high-pressure “Smash Rule,” where a team must both cross the match-point threshold and then win a Chicken Dinner to become the winner. For aggressive Indian rosters, discipline over a long finals grind is essential.
Challenge 5: LAN Nerves, Roster Freshness and Coordination
Both teams arrive with limited elite LAN reps abroad, and GodLike in particular fields a rebuilt roster. After Jonathan Amaral’s departure in April 2026, GodLike rebuilt around IGL Manya with Admino, Spower, Saumay and GodZ, a lineup that only recently claimed the organisation’s first official BGMI title at BMPS 2026 (162 points, two Chicken Dinners, 104 eliminations across 18 matches, for the ₹1 crore first prize) and has never played a PUBG Mobile World Cup together. Orangutan’s Aaru-led core (AK, WizzGOD, Attanki) has more international mileage from PMGC 2025 but still carries the sting of that 35th-place run. On a foreign stage, in a foreign build, coordination and composure under pressure will be tested like never before.
The opportunity is historic: two Indian teams, an official Hindi broadcast on the EWC_IND channel, and a $3,025,000 global stage in Paris. But GodLike and Orangutan at PMWC 2026 must overcome a client-access gap, ferociously tough groups, a discouraging national track record, an unforgiving format, and the pressure of rebuilt and inexperienced lineups on an international LAN. Clearing even the group stage would be a genuine landmark for Indian PUBG Mobile esports.
