iWorld
Irony Inc launches fiery gaming battle with Naagin – ‘Free Fire Original Fierce League’
Mumbai: Irony Inc, a community-first e-sports platform and GamerzArena, India’s one of the leading e-sports platforms have partnered with Naagin, the original Indian hot sauce to organise ‘’Free Fire Original Fierce League’ for the gaming enthusiasts.
The tournament began on 24 November and winning teams from each round will progress towards the final game, scheduled to be held on 9 December. A record 1500 teams will battle it out to bag the highest winning amount of Rs 1,00,000 and the coveted championship title.
“The Gen-Z consumer is one of the most authentic and self-aware audiences. With Gen Z, passion and true connection supersede vanity metrics such as likes, views and impressions,” stated Irony Inc founder and CEO Tushaar Garg. “We are thrilled to have a brand like Naagin aboard which realizes the need to embrace this new-age and emerging esports landscape with an open mind.”
According to the latest report published in October by Sensor Tower, Garena Free Fire became the most downloaded mobile game worldwide with 30 percent downloads coming from India that happens to be its biggest market. Intending to connect with Gen-Z audiences, Naagin, India’s first homegrown hot sauce brand has marketing initiatives to include Free Fire mobile esports tournaments.
“Naagin places two traits at the centre of everything they make – fire and passion. Our love for Gen Z is evident for the fire they possess to pursue their passion,” said Naagin co-founder Arjun Rastogi. “This association will reinforce our target to make Naagin a product to pair their match-time-watching snacks and foods with. At Naagin, we pride ourselves on making products that hit the spot, similar to Free Fire players who hone their ability to hit their mark.”
The ‘Free Fire Original Fierce League’ will be hosted on GamerzArena, India’s leading esports platform for everyday gamers. “Once Irony Inc brought this proposal to us, we were immediately intrigued to work with Naagin as it gives us a giant opportunity to cater to our core target group Gen-Z,” said Alpha interim CEO Matthew Schmidt. “This partnership only further enforces the importance of E-sports in India and Naagin will help Alpha and Irony Inc grow this community.”
“Irony Inc is known for their work with Intel Gamer Days (IGD) and Coda Shop Global Series (CGS) and endeavors to build highly engaged e-sports-based communities for brands that have zeroed in on mobile E-sports to engage and expand their relationship with Gen-Z,” Irony Inc’s Garg further added.
iWorld
Rusk Media announces Battleground Season 2 on Amazon MX Player
Fitness reality show returns in April 2026 with bigger challenges and mentors.
MUMBAI: The arena is reopening and this time the competition promises even more sweat, strategy and spectacle. Rusk Media has confirmed the return of its fitness reality format Battleground for a second season, set to stream on Amazon MX Player from April 2026. The announcement follows the breakout success of the show’s debut season, which positioned itself as a high energy blend of sport, strategy and reality television. Season 1 brought together 16 contestants for a 28 day test of endurance and discipline, as aspiring athletes and fitness enthusiasts competed in physically demanding challenges and team based battles.
Divided into four teams, the participants trained under a panel of mentors drawn from the fitness and lifestyle space, with former Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan serving as the show’s Super Mentor.
The format quickly found an audience among digital viewers and was listed among the most binged titles on Amazon MX Player. The show also picked up industry recognition, winning the “Most Popular Non Fiction Show” honour at the IWMBuzz Digital Awards 2025.
The first season also drew a slate of brand partnerships, including Honda Bigwing, Charged, American Pistachio Growers, Bigmuscles Nutrition, Ritebite Max Protein, Plix and Sparsh CCTV, highlighting the show’s appeal to brands targeting India’s rapidly growing youth and fitness audience.
For Season 2, the producers say the format will evolve with tougher physical challenges, a sharper competitive structure and deeper mentor involvement while continuing to focus on discovering the next generation of Indian fitness personalities.
Rusk Media, chief executive officer and co founder Mayank Yadav said the first season proved the appetite for competitive fitness storytelling. “Battleground was always envisioned as more than a show. Season 1 demonstrated that there is a massive audience for aspirational fitness competition at scale. With Season 2 we are going even bigger in ambition, intensity and opportunities for contestants and partners,” he said.
Rusk Ads lead Rahul Arora added that the series has also evolved into a strong platform for brand integration and advertiser engagement. “Season 1 showed that Battleground is not just compelling content but a powerful brand ecosystem. As we move into Season 2, we are looking to deepen brand collaborations and build more integrated partnerships,” he said.
With a larger format, an expanding fan base and a new season set to arrive in April 2026, Battleground is positioning itself as one of India’s emerging fitness reality franchises in the digital entertainment space.
