Esports: In 5 years, Esports will be the most watched sport in India after Cricket - Jai Shah

Jai Shah, the co-founder of Orangutan, a Mumbai-based esports organisation, believes that the next few years will be revolutionary for esports. 

It will trump cricket and become the most-watched sport in the country. 

He calls his organisation the "Mumbai Indians of esports." Orangutan is built around selecting the best players from India and abroad to participate globally. 

Jai Shah shared more details about the growth of the Orangutan that started in early 2021. Esports was prevalent in India from 2012-14, but it rose to popularity in 2019 thanks to PUBG. 

People were not just interested in watching esports but also in playing it. Orangutan, a rising esports industry, found its footing when Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) was released in 2021. 

In one-and-a-half years, the players in Orangutan experienced massive growth in their reach. 

How is the esports industry Orangutan making a difference?

Orangutan is one of the pioneers of the rising esports culture in India. Their 15,000sq ft facility in Navi Mumbai accommodates game rooms for individual games such as BGMI and Valorant. 

Editors can function in the editing room, and players monitor their performances in the war room. The boot camp facility is also social-media friendly due to its aesthetic. 

Jai Shah has been generous regarding the amenities characterising his company. In addition, the place can be monetised through the sale of naming rights, among other things, because the site is expected to be digitally consumed in increasing portions over the next few years. 

Orangutan promotes the spirit of competition.

Players need competitive experience in tier-1 or tier-2 levels to compete for the organisation. They'll set up academy rosters soon so players can graduate from the academy to their leading teams. They can register through email or tryouts. 

The industry has participated in every big esports tournament over the last 18 months. They aimed to play the most popular games and came third in the BGMI Masters Series organised by Star Sports in 2021. 

They were second in the BGMI Showdown and were just a few points short of participating in the international leg in Riyadh. They finished third in the Skyesports Champions Series in Chennai and won the Free Fire Championship in India. 

They were placed eighth in Asia, and one of the teams in London participated in the Pokemon UNITE tournament, where they finished ninth. 

Their female team partook in the APAC Elite (for female Valorant players) competition and is set to play the masters leg in Berlin. 

Growth of esports in India

Esports in India function on the success of games like - BGMI and Free Fire - which are highly mobile-centric. A game thrives on the amount of money invested by the publisher or the game developer. 

The BGMI suspension since July 2022 was a downgrade for Indian esports. As of now, esports is popular in the north - Uttarakhand, Delhi and Haryana. 

Bengaluru and Mumbai have a fair share of participants, and audiences usually hail from metro cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. West Bengal is ranked fourth when it comes to audience interest in India. 

South India and the Northeast are also zooming ahead.