5 unsung achievements by Indian gamers

Prince Johal receiving the bronze medal at the WCG 2011

Electronic Sports or E-sports is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. It has become a profession for many as gamers around the world compete with each other for prize money in highly-contested tournaments such as World Cyber Games (WCG), Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC), and Electronic Sports League (ESL).

Countries such as South Korea, United States of America, Sweden, and Japan have identified the sport as a legitimate profession. In India, things have recently changed. The country’s pro-gaming circuit is abuzz with excitement over the announcement of the biggest gaming tournament in India’s history, UCypher.

As we get ready to brace this brand new tournament, here, we take a look at five achievements by Indian gamers on the International stage which have been unheard of.


#1 Prince Johal (Carrom-3D)

In 2011, Prince Johal, alias HI_ISTLER, scripted history by winning India’s first (and only) medal at the World Cyber Games, the biggest celebration of e-sports on the planet. He bagged the bronze medal at the PC game Carrom 3D (a billiard simulator), at the finals of the world championship.

Johal qualified for the Grand Finals after winning the national finals of the event in 2011. In the tournament, he was pooled in Group A in the Full Leagues and competed against ‘TwinS_KluB’, ‘InmORtall’ and ‘Diieego’. However, he faced encumbering loses in all three matches.

Vying for the Bronze medal, he took on ‘TwinS_KluB’ yet again and this time he emerged as the victor. He crushed his opponent 3-0 at the arena in Busan Metropolitan City, Korea. This unlikely achievement marked India’s arrival to the arena of e-sport as Johal claimed his bit in fame in a way he never imagined.

Also Read: Esports likely to debut at 2024 Los Angeles Olympics

#2 Sagar Vyas (FIFA)

Vyas being interviewed after a match at ESWC 2012

Sagar Vyas, alias LoveSx, was arguably the best FIFA player in the country. The gamer made it to the round of 16 at the Electronic Sports World Cup 2012. He was named in the Top 10 FIFA players in the world when he got placed in the “Hall of Fame” of ESWC in 2012.

During his schooldays, one of his friends told him about a LAN event of FIFA. Vyas went in to take part in the tournament and made it to the finals. It was then that he decided to become a professional FIFA player.

After fighting out stiff competition in the regional and national qualifiers, Vyas made it to the finals of ESWC. However, he was pooled in the toughest group alongside the world number one and world number two FIFA players. The Indian youngster got the better of world number two and the eventual champion of the tournament, “ovvy”, but was ousted in the second round.

Also Read: 5 highest earning gamers in the world

#3 Team NSD (CS 1.6)

Team NSD (Credits: SaddaHaq)

Team Never Say Die (NSD) are one of India’s best and most successful teams in Counter-Strike 1.6. In 2012, they took part Asia E-sports cup and finished third, India’s highest finish at the tournament, and took home a handsome prize money of $1660.

Four teams, NSD Gaming, Japanese team myRevenge.jp, Singapore’s Asking Questions and Malaysian representatives Hybrid, had taken part in the event at Tokyo Game Show. Famous Finnish player Tomi "lurppis" Kovanen featured for Asking Questions (alias “??”).

The battle was played out in a double elimination best-of-three format, and by the end of the first day, Hybrid was the only team to drop out, as 4th placed. Asking Questions faced NSD for a place in the finals. However, after three maps NSD had accepted defeat at the hands of Asking Questions. In the final, myRevenge.jp went on to defeat Asking Questions in a thrilling encounter.

Also Read: Counter-Strike player receives 1000 years ban for allegedly harassing a minor

#4 Santanu Basu

Santanu Basu is India’s only professional FIFA player on the world scene

Santanu Basu, the 20-something Kolkata lad, is currently the country’s only professional FIFA player on the world scene. In a FIFA Online tournament at Yiwu in China held in 2014, he narrowly missed out on a medal as he finished fourth. However, he took home a cash prize worth $2000.

Being forced to stay at home all day due to acute pancreatitis, he developed a liking for the game. He made a name for himself by winning numerous medals at the national level. Later on, he would go on to represent India in the official Indian Olympic Association (IOA) delegation at the Asian indoor games in South Korea.

Eight champions from around the world including four from China and four from Asia were invited for the tournament. Over the three-day meet, the contestants sat in glass cages on a sprawling stage furiously working their consoles. But despite his best efforts, Basu finished fourth.

#5 Beyond Infinity (DotA 2)

Beyond Infinity’s logo

Beyond Infinity, a team comprising of some of India’s best DotA 2 players like Balaji Ramnarayan (alias BlizzarD), Moin Ejaz (alias NO_Chanc3) and Jeet Kundra (alias Swifty) made it to the quarter-finals of the ESL One Manila South-east Asian qualifiers in 2016.

In the pre-quarters, the Indian team had won against Malaysian team Wu Jie in just 15 mins in the first game and 25 mins in the second. Wu Jie were strong contenders for the title and consisted of skilled players like JoHnNy but Beyond Infinity were on a roll.

However, their dream run ended in the quarter-final, where they lost to eventual champions, Team Fnatic. With the humiliating 2-0 loss, they were ousted from the tournament and all hopes of qualifying for the ESL One Manila 2016 were quashed. Nonetheless, this achievement was incredible considering the gaming scenario in India.