“In coming years, Battlegrounds Mobile India will play a big role in developing the nation’s esports scene”: Arjun “Blind Satan” Suresh 

Battlegrounds Mobile India has put a new gusto in the nation’s mobile esports scene. With the BGMI Series 2021 right around the corner, teams are gearing up to give it their all and win the first official tournament of the game.

Arjun “Blind Satan” Suresh, co-owner of Blind Esports, has a lot of faith in his Battlegrounds Mobile India roster. In an interview with Abhishek Mallick of Sportskeeda Esports, Arjun opens up about the formation and vision behind Blind Esports and the quintessential role BGMI will be playing in developing India’s esports scene.

Here is an excerpt of the conversation.

Q. Arjun, can we have you tell our readers a bit about yourself and the path that led you down the line of becoming one of the biggest community figures in India’s mobile esports scene, as well as the co-owner of Blind Esports?

Arjun: I have been interested in video games since my school days, even though I was not too aware of the esports side of the industry and the opportunities present in them. So I wasn’t exactly thinking of an esports career from a young age.

It was only when I moved back to Mumbai in 2018 for my job at Reliance Jio Infocomm that I finally got some time to explore the esports side of PUBG Mobile.

Q. Can you shed some light on the origins of Blind Esports? How did the organization start, and what were some of the visions that went into its making?

Arjun: BLIND Esports started as a PUBG Mobile roster back in 2019 with a vision to bring talented amateurs into the mobile esports scene. Our first professional debut was at the PMIT, where the team reached the semi-finals.

Later on, we expanded to other games to accommodate more content creators and esports enthusiasts under our banner.

Q. Talk us through some of the hurdles that the organization had to face early on. Which parts would you say were more challenging to manage than the rest?

Arjun: The PUBG Mobile part of the organization was easier to handle as we were all playing the game. That made us all aware of what was happening in the community.

The challenges presented themselves when we were taking in new rosters for other games, especially the titles we ourselves did not play or know much about the in-game specifics of.

So at the start, when taking in a roster, I would try to install the game myself and invest some hours to understand its various mechanics. Hence, hiring players for new titles was always a time-consuming process for me.

However, as BLIND Esports has grown significantly over the years, we now have managers for each division who help streamline the process.

Q. Blind Esports now has both a content creation team and a Battlegrounds Mobile India esports division. What are some of your expectations from these two parts of the organization in the coming months, especially in terms of revenue generation and community participation?

Arjun: To be honest, BLIND Esports did not start off with a proper revenue model in mind. Just like most teams, we began as a regular roster. Only when the PUBG Mobile ban hit the nation did we start thinking about the future.

Moreover, when it comes to community participation, BLIND Esports, with its operation, will be very much looking forward to providing positive inputs to the community growth of the Indian esports scene.

We will also be working on our “talent management system” where more players and content creators can be helped by the BLIND family and use it as an opportunity to leave their own mark in the scene.

Q. With Battlegrounds Mobile India finally live, what are some of your thoughts around the game so far? Was Krafton able to deliver on the hype and expectations?

Arjun: Definitely! The hype around Battlegrounds Mobile India is very real, and Krafton has put in a lot of effort to launch the game.

I still feel that part of the game’s development is in the budding stage, and there are a lot of issues that Krafton needs to address before the title gets rolling properly. We have a lot of faith in Krafton, and I believe they will soon be fixing the major issues in the game to provide us with the best gaming experience that PUBG Mobile has to offer.

Q. Battlegrounds Mobile India series 2021 is right around the corner. How are team strategies and synergy coming along ahead of Krafton’s first official tournament on the title?

Arjun: The Blind Esports team is very much focused on the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series 2021. There have been a few new additions to the roster, so the players are hard at work practicing their strategy and synergy.

Being the first official title under BGMI, everyone wants to win it, and the same goes for us too. I am very excited for the event to start.

Q. What kind of market do you feel Battlegrounds Mobile India will be able to create once its esports scene officially kicks off? Do you think it will be able to create a self-sustaining scene that will not need to depend on foreign investments and international representation?

Arjun: Foreign investment always seems like an added bonus to me. With the current scenario, most teams have a fixed revenue model and they have some cookie-cutter presets built-in that give them a clearer picture of how to run their team.

Esports will definitely be booming in India, and in the coming years, Battlegrounds Mobile India will play a big part in that development.

Esports has already gained recognition in international sporting events like the Asian Games. In September 2018, Tirth Mehta created history by placing third and winning the first esports medal for the nation in Hearthstone.

So hopefully going forward, there will be a lot more recognition for esports in India, that's for sure.

Q. Apart from managing Blind Esports, you are also known as a content creator. Can you talk to us about some of the creative processes that go behind each of your videos? What can fans expect from the channel in the coming months?

Arjun: Initially, I was not into content creation all that much, but then I heard that people like to listen to what I say rather than what I play.

So, I am currently setting up a gaming room for myself. Once it's done, I will be pushing out content that is informative and related to Indian esports.