- Fans with tickets were made to sit on floor due to over-distribution in BGIS 2025 Grand Finals.
- Competitive fan rivalries turned into violent clashes as brawls broke out with nobody to control.
- Players received just ₹1000/day for food in a five-star hotel - some fell sick.
The Battlegrounds Mobile India Series (BGIS) has always been the flagship esports event in the Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) professional esports scene in India. The 2025 edition of BGIS Grand Finals was meant to be another feather in the existing crown of BGMI’s epic fanbase and craze. But the reality was something else.
Playing and winning this annual event is arguably the most important goal of every aspiring Indian esports athlete because of its glory and grandeur. However, what unfolded at the Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan in Kolkata, India, was far from the grand spectacle we were promised.
In this article, we are going to look at where things went wrong and what could have been done to make BGIS 2025 a better esports tournament.
Over-distribution of tickets made the fans sit on the floor
Yes, you read it correctly. On the final day of BGIS 2025, the over-distribution (or should I say over-selling? I will come back to it later) of tickets made the Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan full in no time.
Many ardent fans were denied to get entry due to this, even with legit tickets. This brings a question to my mind- did KRAFTON India think that there is a possibility that the arena will not be filled with a regular number of tickets? I don’t know.
However, at the end, a portion of those disappointed esports enthusiasts was given access, but at what cost? They were made to sit on the floor to watch and support their favorite team and players.
This once again raises a concern regarding KRAFTON India and the tournament organizers’ ability to manage large events like this. We should always keep the fact in mind that the fans are the biggest stakeholders of any title and it’s esports scene. At the end of the day, if those fans who even bought tickets with real money are being treated like this, then it is saddening.
Was the BGIS Grand Final full of glitter but no gold
The stay of the finalists of BGIS was exquisite. They were accommodated in the biggest five-star hotel in Kolkata. But here comes the twist. As per the sources close to GamingonPhone, the organizers gave each player only 1000 INR (~ $12) as their daily food expense.
Yes! Only 1000 rupees per day to cover all their meals in a hotel where food from outside is not allowed to enter. So what happened next? Few players fell ill as they were forced to go out and eat cheaper food. Even 8bit Thug, co-owner of SouL esports, expressed his concerns regarding the same on his Instagram broadcast.
This incident clearly shows the lack of dedication and negligence of KRAFTON India and the tournament organizer towards the well-being of the players and support staff, which is once again very heartbreaking to see.
Fans are taking the Battle Royale genre very seriously and literally
When it is an offline LAN event with the audience, it is expected that the fans will express their emotions. But things went wrong when the same emotion got the best of them. In some widely circulated videos on social media, we can see that supporters from two different fan bases are getting involved in a brawl and beating each other with chairs and other objects.
If things like this occur, then it is the duty of the organizers and the dedicated security personnel to handle the situation. But it was not the case. We could clearly see that the guards are just standing there and giving minimal efforts to de-escalate the situation.
This once again shows the lack of management prowess of KRAFTON. Scenarios like this can cause serious damage to the reputation of BGMI. It can also create a negative impact among the parents of emerging players and the spectators. Are they safe in the stadium where the final is taking place?
Conclusion
The BGIS 2025 Grand Finals had all the ingredients to be a landmark LAN event in Indian esports. The top 16 teams in the country are fighting it out in a history-rich city like Kolkata. The stage was set! Massive fan engagement, top-tier talents, and unprecedented exposure turned into poor planning, inadequate facilities, and crowd mismanagement.
The things should not have gone this way. Not only the massive prizepool and gigantic viewership, but also the offline experience and well-being of the involved individuals matters. If KRAFTON truly care about the growth of esports in India, these issues can no longer be brushed under the carpet.
Read our other articles:
- 10 Best Loot Locations in PUBG Mobile Vikendi map
- BGMI redeem codes and how to use them
- Battlegrounds Mobile India Pro Series (BMPS) 2025 has been announced with a massive prize pool
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