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India levels up as PUACL 2026 returns with $20,000 prize
NATIONAL: India is getting ready to catch ’em all, this time on the esports stage. The Pokémon Company has unveiled the 2026 Pokémon Unite Asia Champions League India League, a $20,000 online showdown that will decide which home-grown squad earns its ticket to the global finals in Yokohama’s Buntai Arena next year.
Executed by Skyesports, one of India’s leading esports operators, the league brings together ten of the country’s strongest organisations, including S8UL, GodLike Esports, Team Tamilas, Revenant XSpark and True Rippers. With Pokémon Unite’s competitive scene booming in the region, the tournament attempts to give Indian teams a clear route from local stardom to international contention.
The season begins with a five-day group stage running from late November to mid-January, followed by the King of the Hill playoffs on 31 January. The winner takes home the India League title, a share of the $20,000 prize pool and, more importantly, India’s lone berth at the PUACL 2026 offline finals in Japan, which will feature a far larger pot and teams from across Asia.
Skyesports founder and chief executive Shiva Nandy, said the league reflects the “strong and passionate competitive community” that has grown around the title in India. He added that the event gives players “a clear path to compete at the highest level in Asia,” while highlighting the quality of talent emerging from the domestic ecosystem.
The entire season will stream live on official Pokémon Unite and Skyesports channels, offering fans a ringside seat as established contenders and rising hopefuls jostle for supremacy. Last year’s champions, GodLike Esports, made it to the finals in Japan but were knocked out in the group stage. They will be eager to reclaim the crown and script a stronger international run in 2026.
With reputations, bragging rights and a shot at global glory on the line, India’s Pokémon Unite season promises high stakes, high drama and, if fans are lucky, a few super-effective surprises.
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AI becomes key tool for Indian travellers, Agoda report finds
68 per cent plan to use AI for trips as 33 per cent already rely on it.
MUMBAI: Holiday planning is getting a software upgrade less “Where should we go?” and more “What does the algorithm say?” Indian travellers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to map their journeys, with new data from Agoda’s 2026 Travel Outlook Report suggesting that AI is fast becoming central to how trips are imagined, planned and booked.
While 33 per cent of respondents said they already use AI tools for travel planning, a far larger 68 per cent indicated they are likely to rely on it for their next trip pointing to a sharp acceleration in adoption in a market already comfortable with digital-first travel.
What travellers want from AI, however, goes well beyond basic search. The report shows 38 per cent are looking for recommendations on local attractions and activities, while 37 per cent expect personalised itineraries. Destination discovery remains a key use case at 29 per cent, with dining suggestions (23 per cent) and budget management (22 per cent) also emerging as practical applications.
The shift reflects a broader change in expectations AI is no longer a novelty but a planning companion expected to work across every stage of the journey, from inspiration to execution.
Trust levels appear to be keeping pace. Nearly 88 per cent of respondents said they either trust or feel neutral about AI-generated recommendations, including 53 per cent who expressed clear confidence. This builds on earlier trends, with Agoda’s 2025 survey showing nine in ten Indian travellers already using apps to book travel suggesting AI adoption is more evolution than disruption.
The company has been testing this appetite through initiatives such as its 2025 AI-powered Vacation Planner campaign, which generated customised itineraries and visuals based on user inputs, delivered with a layer of celebrity-led engagement.
For platforms like Agoda, which aggregates more than 6 million properties, over 130,000 flight routes and 300,000 travel activities, AI offers a way to navigate scale without overwhelming users turning abundance into relevance.
As AI continues to embed itself into everyday decision-making, India is emerging as a market where travel planning is not just going digital, but decisively intelligent.
