“We have the gun power. We lack the strategy”: KRAFTON India’s Karan Pathak on what BMIC 2026 showed about Indian BGMI
The Dome at SVP Indoor Stadium in Mumbai was electric for the opening of the BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA INTERNATIONAL CUP (BMIC) 2026. For two days, a razor-thin one-point margin separated Korean heavyweights Nongshim RedForce and Dplus KIA at the top of the leaderboard. By the final day, Nongshim RedForce shattered the deadlock, securing the crown with a staggering 233 points, while India’s Gladiators Esports mounted a fierce final-day comeback to finish fourth. Behind this high-octane collision of India’s best against international titans sits Karan Pathak, Associate Director of Esports at KRAFTON India, who engineered the spectacle.
South Korean teams took the top three places (Nongshim RedForce, Kiwoom DRX and Dplus KIA) and four of the top seven. The gap between them and India is clear, but India’s teams closed it well. Three Indian sides finished in the top six, ahead of every Japanese team. India’s best teams do not stay down. Gladiators climbed from 12th to fourth, and Outrage and K9 stayed in the top six all event.
Final Standing
| Rank | Team | Country | WWCDs | Position Pts | Finish Pts | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nongshim RedForce | South Korea | 5 | 85 | 148 | 233 |
| 2 | Kiwoom DRX | South Korea | 2 | 52 | 99 | 151 |
| 3 | Dplus KIA | South Korea | 3 | 61 | 88 | 149 |
| 4 | Gladiators Esports | India | 3 | 46 | 98 | 144 |
| 5 | Outrage Esports | India | 2 | 42 | 83 | 125 |
| 6 | K9 Esports | India | 2 | 36 | 80 | 116 |
| 7 | Daejeon Game PT | South Korea | 0 | 25 | 87 | 112 |
| 8 | KINOTROPE gaming | Japan | 0 | 33 | 62 | 95 |
| 9 | iQOO 8Bit | India | 0 | 27 | 66 | 93 |
| 10 | Blitz Epigrotive Gaming | India | 0 | 30 | 59 | 89 |
| 11 | REIGNITE | Japan | 0 | 38 | 50 | 88 |
| 12 | iQOO SouL | India | 0 | 18 | 69 | 87 |
| 13 | FOCUS | South Korea | 0 | 26 | 55 | 81 |
| 14 | MAKING THE ROAD | Japan | 0 | 26 | 49 | 75 |
| 15 | Valor | Japan | 1 | 21 | 43 | 64 |
| 16 | Versus | Japan | 0 | 10 | 13 | 23 |
The Meta Gap: Gunpower vs. Strategy
Despite a valiant effort from the home squads, with Gladiators Esports finishing as the best-placed Indian side, Outrage Esports securing fifth, and K9’s Taurus taking the Best Clutch award, the Korean teams swept the podium. Pathak notes that while Indian teams have the mechanical prowess, the strategic gap on the global circuit remains apparent.
“If you talk about gunpower, we are there 100%, but strategies we lack a bit, which I think people are trying to figure out because the game style is different,”
Pathak observed, pointing out the highly technical nature of international play. He noted that international rosters execute calculated pushes with predictive grenades and heavily defined squad roles, whereas the Indian circuit often relies more on raw momentum than layered tactical setups.
Dispelling Server Myths and Production Realities
For a cross-border mobile LAN event, technical standardisation is heavily scrutinised by both players and fans. When asked about the server architecture required to guarantee competitive fairness between BGMI and international PUBG Mobile clients, Pathak clarified a common misconception.
“There isn’t a LAN server here in the first place, What you’re expecting is way too high. We’re not there yet for BGMI,”
He explained, noting that the tournament operates on a dedicated esports partition of the general global server. Pathak emphasised that at this elite tier, technical nuances hardly faze the competitors, revealing that some pros are so intensely disciplined they are capable of playing without audio. Despite sudden rigging restrictions from the Municipal Corporation that forced his team to utilise a backup stage design, Pathak praised the production crew for executing a flawless 12-game technical broadcast over the opening days.
“12 games, no issues. And I was just thanking God for it… because even their local ISPs are set. In India, we’re still getting there. I think compared to 2018 to now, it’s crazy good. So we’re there, just give it a couple of more months or maybe a year, we’ll be at par with them.”
Alan Walker, Paid Tickets, and the Spectator Experience
BMIC 2026 heavily leaned into mainstream youth culture, featuring an opening live set by Alan Walker. While Pathak acknowledged the nostalgia of Walker’s performance, he stressed the core mission. “Hardcore esports”. KRAFTON previously accommodated 25,000 fans in a single day in Ahmedabad. In order to manage that massive demand for the 3,000-capacity Dome as well, the company introduced paid ticketing. This ensures a premium, controlled experience for attendees giving up nearly 12 hours of their day. He stated, prioritising the quality of the live fan experience over sheer stadium capacity.
“We’ve accommodated 25,000 people in Ahmedabad in one day, so if we’ve been able to do that, give me a bigger stadium. We’ll fill it up if it’s free… Tickets are a way for us to give back, and we always give back more.”
From ‘Stunt Mania’ to ‘Ace’ Tier Esports Architect
Pathak’s pragmatic approach to building these arenas stems from an extensive background in event marketing. Before venturing into gaming, he managed high-profile cultural properties like Coke Studio and Stunt Mania. Bored with the stakes of traditional marketing, he pivoted to esports operations with Tencent Games before eventually bringing his expertise to KRAFTON. Today, he not only orchestrates India’s biggest mobile esports events but is also an active player himself. Reaching the “Ace” tier, Pathak confidently claimed his internal KRAFTON squad could easily hold their own, joking, “I’ll make sure all their internet goes off and win”.
As BMIC 2026 brings the curtain down on KRAFTON India’s season of four flagship LAN tournaments, the roadmap is clear. India has the raw mechanical talent and the massive production scale, but closing that final strategic gap to champions like Nongshim RedForce will define the region’s next chapter on the global stage.
