Gaming
Poker Sports League Season 5 breaks record with over 9,500 unique entries
Mumbai: The Poker Sports League (PSL) has once again cemented its position as India’s most prestigious poker event, breaking records and surpassing all expectations. With an extraordinary 9547 unique entries during the qualifying rounds, the season five qualifiers breaks all records for unique participation for a poker event in India. Based on the current trajectory and the massive growth from previous seasons, PSL is expected to break all viewership records for poker with its live streaming of the final matches starting 22 July.
Poker Sports League CEO, and co-founder Pranav Bagai shared his heartfelt excitement, stating, “The level of engagement we’ve witnessed this year has left us absolutely thrilled! With over 9500 unique entries flooding into the general qualifiers, we are truly humbled by the sheer passion and dedication showcased by the aspiring players vying for the top 37 spots. In comparison, the esteemed World Series of Poker Main Event, which started in 1972, has garnered a maximum of 8773 unique entries in a single year”
Earlier this year, PSL 2023 forged strategic alliances with two leading entities – Pocket52, a prominent online poker gaming app, as its title sponsor, and JioCinema as its official streaming partner. This groundbreaking collaboration revolutionises the gaming experience, reshaping viewer engagement from the comfort of their homes. The tournament, with an impressive prize pool of Rs 1.5 crores, will be exclusively live streamed on JioCinema, commencing from 22 July and culminating in the grand finale on 19 August.
The excitement begins with the live auction among the six teams in Goa on 8 July, followed by virtual matches from 22 July to 10 August, providing players with a unique opportunity to compete from their homes. In a historic first for Poker Sports League (PSL), the much-anticipated auction will be brought to viewers’ screens through a live-stream, enhancing the excitement and spectacle akin to the IPL-style auctions. The eagerly awaited event will see team owners, captains, and analysts gather in the vibrant ambiance of Goa, promising an enthralling experience for poker enthusiasts nationwide.
Pocket52 director and founder Nitesh Salvi, “We are ecstatic to see the response for PSL season 5 on our platform. 9500+ unique entries for the general qualifiers alone are testimony to the underlying passion and immense potential of poker in India. We are optimistic that Season 5 will be bigger and better than ever before, and will create a wave of momentum that will bring more and more people into the poker ecosystem and create a sustainable culture for skill-based online gaming in India.”
PSL Season 5 is all set to become the biggest poker extravaganza in India, boasting its largest-ever prize pool and an unmatched level of participation. An unprecedented live finale in Goa awaits, showcasing 72 players, including professionals, captains, and 37 qualifier winners, making it a trailblazing event.
Mark your calendars for the grand finale, scheduled from 16 to 19 August, where the champions will be crowned in an exhilarating live finale in Goa.
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.
