The gaming culture has witnessed an incredible surge in India over the past few decades, influencing millions of gamers in the country to follow their passion and build a flourishing career out of it. Although the gaming culture in India was undoubtedly at a surge for a long time, the Covid-19 lockdown period further highlighted its popularity among the youth of this country. Contrary to how gaming was only perceived as a mere hobby prior to the esports revolution, it is now perceived as a full-time profession and a highly stable and secure career choice.
While the growing availability of smartphones and the high-speed internet have both played a crucial role in elevating the gaming stature in India, numerous iconic gamers and esports players have also significantly contributed to influencing the youth of this country to actively pursue gaming as an exciting and glitzy profession.
Iconic gaming personalities, including Mortal, ScOutOP, Jonathan, Goblin, Triggered Insaan and many others have represented India at international gaming tournaments and have made the nation proud by clinching the most prestigious and coveted international gaming leagues and tournaments, including the most popular CODM World Championship.
Apart from the tournament’s winnings, esports players earn an enormous chunk of their annual revenue through YouTube stream channels, sponsorship and endorsements, merchandise sales and guest appearances at gaming events. In a nutshell, with the growing popularity of Esports players, more and more young players are becoming influenced to choose the flourishing profession of full-time gaming.
In this article we will take a look at the top four most popular and prominent esports players from India who have elevated India’s stature at international gaming tournaments.
Top 4 Most Popular Esports Players In India
Vivek Aabhas – ClutchGod
Indian professional gamer and Youtuber Vivek Aabhas, popularly referred to as “ClutchGod”, was born in 2003 in Jaipur, India. The twenty-one-year-old Indian esports athlete made his esports debut with PUBG mobile (now known as BGMI in India).
Vivek Aabhas has been a crucial part of numerous prominent esports teams, including Team Soul, Entity Gaming, Revenge Esports, Team Tapatap, TSM Entity and GodLike Sports. Vivek Aabhas grabbed enormous fame and limelight after clinching the PUBG Mobile India Tour of 2019 for team Revenge Esports. Additionally, Vivek Aabhas also won the PUBG Mobile India Series 2020 along with his teammates Ghatak, ZGOD, Jonathan and Neyoo.
Vivek Aabhas was awarded with a total of three MVP awards during the Fnatic Lockdown Invitational 2020, PUBG Mobile Pro League (South Asian season) and India Today League PUBGM invitational.
Apart from his stellar gaming achievements, Vivek Aabhas also enjoys a dominating presence on social media, including 5.19 Lakh YouTube subscribers and 389k Instagram followers as of January 2025. Often hailed as one of the most popular Indian esports athletes, ClutchGod has a whopping net worth of INR 2.7 Crore according to recent reports and statistics.
Jonathan Amaral – Jonathan Gaming
Born on 21 September 2002 in Goa, India, Jonathan Amaral is a professional Indian esports athlete who is often commemorated as the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) of the Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) game by the gaming community.
Jonathan Amaral officially kick-started his Esports career with Entity Gaming in 2019 and one year later he switched to TSM Entity in 2020. Jonathan Amaral was officially selected by GodLike Esports in 2021 and has been an active player for the team ever since. Jonathan proved his gaming dominance during the 2020 PMIS Semifinals, where he established a record for the highest number of individual kill counts in a tournament with 16 kills.
Additionally, Jonathan also proved his gaming caliber during the 2021 PUBG Mobile Championship and was placed at #13 in the tournament. Moreover, with a total of 6.2 million YouTube subscribers and 3.9 million Instagram followers, one of the most popular Indian esports athletes, Jonathan Amaral, has a strong social media presence.
Ankit Panth – V3nom
Indian Esports athlete and one of the most popular and prominent Counter-Strike gamers, Ankit Panth commonly referred to by the gaming name “V3nom”, was only sixteen years old when he started off with his professional esports journey.
Contrary to most of the Indian gamers, Ankit Panth has received unconditional support from his parents since the beginning of his gaming journey. In an interview, Panth revealed how his father withdrew his fixed deposits and how his mother sold off her jewelry to buy him the best gaming equipment.
In 2022, Ankit Path was selected as India’s first Red Bull athlete in gaming. In his flourishing Esports career, Panth has bagged numerous awards and titles, including “Captain of the year” in 2018 at the India Gaming Awards and second place at the World Cyber Games – Counter Strike 1.6 thrice in the years 2009, 2010 and 2015.
While the gamer from Meerut has undoubtedly earned massive respect through his stellar career achievements, V3nom also enjoys a massive following on social media, including 64k Instagram followers and 1.40 lakh YouTube subscribers.
Tanmay Singh – ScOut OP
Tanmay Singh, popularly known as “scOut OP”, is one of the most popular Indian Esports athletes. In addition to being an Esports athlete, Tanmay Singh is also a popular YouTuber and gaming content creator.
Tanmay Singh’s esports journey officially started in 2018 when he won his first official tournament, “Fighting League 2018 -India”, and was awarded with a whopping prize money of $30,000.
Ever since, Tanmay Singh aka ScOut OP has been a part of numerous esports teams, including Team Fnatic, Team Orange Rock, Team X Spark and Team IND. Tanmay Singh’s Team X Spark secured second position at the Loco Diwali Battle : Grand Finals 2021, winning stellar prize money of $3,351. Tanmay Singh also featured in the popular television series “Playground” show as a mentor. With a phenomenal 5.06 million subscribers on YouTube, ScOut OP is one of the most followed esports athletes in India.