With PUBG Mobile ban still in effect, Tencent denies Indian teams entry to PMPL Season 2

PUBG Mobile was recently banned in India
PUBG Mobile was recently banned in India

For professional esports players who now have their futures at stake, the PUBG Mobile ban has been a hot topic lately. In recent years, Tencent has been conducting different PUBG Mobile tournaments and stacked up future tournaments as well.

The next major event in which Indian teams were to demonstrate their abilities was the PUBG Mobile Pro League (PMPL) Fall Split 2020 South Asia. A big news struck, however, when all the Indian sides were denied inclusion in this tournament.

The same was confirmed in a recent meeting, according to sources, by James Yang, Tencent's Director of Global Esports for PUBG Mobile.


PUBG Mobile teams from other regions have been invited

Interestingly, rosters from other regions have been invited to confirm their participation for the PMPL 2020, which ultimately means that all the preparations for the tournament are going well, except the fact that Indian teams will not be allowed to participate.

Below are a few screenshots of invitations received by teams from other regions:

Invite received by R3D Esports
Invite received by R3D Esports
Invited received by Abrupt Slayers
Invited received by Abrupt Slayers

Teams planning to play from other regions

Various teams like TSM Entity, Xspark, Nova Godlike, and GXR Celtz were planning to play from nearby regions around the country. Some organisations were also planning to let teams play from their original country, but that too doesn't seem possible now. However, no official announcement has been made yet.


Qualified Indian teams not allowed to play at the upcoming PMPL 2020

The recently-concluded PMCO India Fall Split 2020 had five teams (Xspark, Future Station, Stalwart Esports, Fintox, Team Insane) who qualified for the upcoming PMPL 2020. It had young talents who desired to make their way into the esports scene.

Along with them, the top 12 professional teams from the PMPL Spring Split 2020 received direct invitations to play in this tournament.

This list included::

  • Orange Rock
  • TSM Entity
  • Godlike
  • Synerge
  • Mega Stars
  • Fnatic
  • Marcos Gaming
  • Team Soul
  • VSG Crawlers
  • Powerhouse
  • Umumba Esports
  • Team IND

PUBG breaks partnership with Tencent in India

A few days after the ban, PUBG Corporation put out a statement out of concern for the country's broad player base, no longer authorising the PUBG Mobile franchise to Tencent Games. It added that PUBG Corp would take up all the publishing responsibilities for the game in the country.


PUBG Corp to collab with Jio?

Unconfirmed sources also hint that Jio, the Indian telecommunications giant, will partner up with PUBG Corporation to keep PUBG Mobile running in the country, via an Indian publisher. However, the IT & Telecommunications Department has not made it clear whether having an Indian publisher would help bring back PUBG Mobile.

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