PUBG Mobile has been the defining game of the genre. Being on a platform easily accessible to everyone, the game became one of the most-watched and played games in the country. This led to the rise of young streamers and competitive teams for the game with aspirations to compete in global events. Sadly, looks like obstacles never stop coming for an “Indian gamer”, so to say.
The three teams who qualified from the PUBG Mobile Club Open (PMCO) Indian qualifiers include TeamIND, Indian Tigers and Team SouL. SouL won the qualifier, while TeamIND and Indian Tigers came a close 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Indian qualifiers. However, it seems that they would be forced to play the game from NODWIN’s office in Delhi since their application for visas to Germany has been canceled.
Sc0utOP, one of the players for TeamIND, had mentioned that one of the prime reasons for the rejection of their visas was the lack of an official Indian organization managing esports in the country. Most other countries having a considerable presence in the global esports scene have one, which makes getting a visa to foreign countries much easier, though there have been visa issues (especially in the USA, where visa norms have become extremely tight recently). MortaL mentions the same thing on his stream and clarifies that Team SouL was on the same boat about getting their visas denied.
The Indian PUBG Mobile gaming community has been massively disappointed by this recent turn of events. A large assortment of Indian gamers have taken to Twitter with the hashtag #IndiaatPMCO, originally started by Rishabh ‘Rakazone’ Karanwal. Rakazone himself happens to be one of the leading streamers and influencers in the Indian PUBG scene, who started the #IndiaatPMCO trend on Twitter, going so far as to tag Dr. S. Jaishankar, the current External Affairs Minister for India.
Lack of recognition has led our Indian Esports team & Influencers not receiving VISA on time for representing our nation in a global tournament happening on 20th July in Berlin. Kindly look into this matter #IndiaatPMCO@GermanyinIndia @DrSJaishankar @MEAIndia @AmbLindnerIndia
— Rishab Karanwal (@rakazonegaming) July 18, 2019
There has been some confusion regarding the various statements used by various people about the visa problems. It so happens that the teams had their visas rejected, and not merely delayed as Rakazone had mentioned in his tweet. All three teams do have the chance to re-apply, especially since their games do not start till July 26. Failure to get their visas accepted would mean that they would be forced to play from NODWIN’s office in Delhi instead of playing with the others at LAN. Needless to say, the massive ping disadvantage can be a serious detriment to their chances at the Prelims, which starts from July 20.
The IndianNoob team solemnly hopes that all three teams manage to get their visas in time, so that they can attend the Prelims in Berlin. As for viewers, be sure to join the #IndiaatPMCO movement on Twitter if you can.