ESPORTS
The mission of an octet By Amarylisa Gonsalves
T
he esports scene in India is ment titles. Recently we merged bigger than ever before. The SouL and 8bit to form S8UL. We credit goes to many people launched a gaming house that’s behind the scenes, but the industry owes a huge citation to the pioneers who took the responsibility of making esports the next big thing in India, onto their own shoulders. One of them being ‘8bit Thug’ - you talk to anyone in the esports fraternity or an esports enthusiast, it’s impossible to come across anyone who hasn’t heard of him. A pro gamer, an entrepreneur, a streamer, an influencer, an owner of two of the best teams, an inspiration to millions, a philanthropist, and a humble person, Animesh Agarwal aka 8bit thug is a visionary who aims at making esports the biggest in India. Here’s everything the esports star had to share with us. You’ve been a professional esports player for a long time now. What has been your journey in the esports industry like? I was a professional player for the initial first year of my career. I was the first person ever to represent India at the PUBG mobile tournament in Thailand as an Indian captain. It went well, but eventually I took a step back when I realised there are better players than me and I went ahead to form two of India’s most successful teams, that is SouL and 8bit. These are the biggest names when it comes to mobile gaming and 8bit is a team that has won many tourna32
GUTSHOT
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worth a million dollars, something that has never been seen before India. The journey has been going great. I have shifted more towards the entrepreneurial side of gaming and esports and I am trying to create more opportunities for people to join in. Tell us about your journey from a player to team owner with 8bit. How did the idea of 8bit conceptualize? 8bit has been in existence for four years now, out of which the initial two years were casual social gaming. There was a game, where we
used to have a clan called ‘8bit.’ The team had 50-60 people, where we socially interacted. But when I went to Thailand, I saw how big the esports ecosystem was. I had heard about how big esports is in America, in Europe and the opportunities available, but I never got to experience that firsthand. Thailand changed my experience completely. When I saw the kind of facilities, the quantum at which esports is being practiced, I realized that there is a big void in India that needs to be filled in by someone and someone needs to step-up. I came back to India and I was one of the first people to start an esports company especially based on mobile gaming. That changed the esports scenario in India completely. I would say, Thailand gave me the motivation to start a professional team and convert 8bit into a more professional organisation. The journey of 8bit has been great, we have added many trophies to our shelf over the last couple of years before we merged into SouL and formed S8UL. We have had excellent results. We are one of the very few companies in India who are actually making profit. How does it feel representing India on an international level? I can tell you how my boys prepare for it because the last time I played on an international level was in 2018 and things have changed quite a lot after
