Gaming
Koramangala Indoor Stadium to host Skyesports Masters finals
Mumbai: Skyesports, South Asia’s leading Esports tournament organiser, announced today that the ongoing Skyesports Masters, India’s first franchised Esports league with an Rs. 2,00,00,000 prize pool, will culminate in a LAN Finale at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium, Bangalore.
Taking place on 26 and 27 Aug, the Skyesports Masters Playoffs will be a grand on-ground event to crown the best CS:GO team in the country. Being the first LAN Esports event in India at a stadium since 2019, it will be an affair like never before. With free entry, fans can catch all the action live and in-person.
The Playoffs will not only feature nail-biting CS:GO action but will also see engagement booths from AMD and Zebronics, giving fans an on-hand experience of their favourite gaming hardware. It will also have live performances and entertainment to keep fans hooked. Additionally, the Skyesports Award Ceremony, featuring the top teams of the Skyesports Champions Series – BGMI, will also take place at the event with the likes of Blind Esports and Team Soul being felicitated.
Skyesports founder and CEO Shiva Nandy said, “Bringing India’s biggest gaming tournament to Bangalore, which has a lot of PC gaming fans, is a momentous occasion for Skyesports. We are looking forward to welcoming the top teams and passionate fans to witness the culmination of the Skyesports Masters at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium. We are grateful for the support of our partners, AMD, Windows 11, Flipkart, and Zebronics, who have helped make this tournament a reality and look forward to delivering an unforgettable experience for everyone involved and crowning the inaugural champions of the Skyesports Masters”.
The Skyesports Masters is currently underway with its online League Stage. In the League Stage, happening from July 8 to Aug. 17, eight franchised teams are competing in a double round-robin format. After an intense battle, only the top four will make it to Bangalore to compete in the Skyesports Masters Playoffs to compete for the ultimate glory. The four teams will compete in a single elimination bracket to crown the champions.
The Skyesports Masters is powered by AMD and Windows 11 with Flipkart as the co-powered sponsor. Zebronics is the peripherals partner for India’s biggest gaming tournament.
The eight franchised teams in the Skyesports Masters are as follows:
7Sea Esports
Enigma Gaming
Gods Reign
Marcos Gaming
Medal Esports
Reckoning Esports
Revenant Esports
Velocity Gaming
The entire tournament is being live-streamed on the official Skyesports Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook handles. Stay tuned to Skyesports’ Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook handles for more information about registration for the last leg of the inaugural Skyesports Masters.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
