Tech giant Philips is entering esports. The company announced in a press release today that it had picked up the roster of R Esports to compete in BGMI tournaments under the name, OneBlade. Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) is the Indian version of PUBG Mobile.

BGMI itself returned to the market only recently, after being banned for almost a year. The game has returned on a three-month trial period, however, as the Indian government keeps an eye on it for issues related to “user harm, addiction, etc.”

“We are thrilled to announce the launch of our gaming team, ‘OneBlade,’ for BGMI esports,” said Deepali Agarwal the head of personal health at Philips India. “Building on our successful alliance for the launch of Philips OneBlade QP1424, we aim to cater to the grooming needs of the GenZ gamers with an enhanced product experience enabling them to ‘Move Fearlessly’. By supporting the talented players, we are confident in showcasing the Philips OneBlade spirit and capturing the enthusiasm of the gaming community. We look forward to an exciting journey ahead with BGMI esports.”

Philips signs R Esports BGMI team to compete in tournaments

As a part of the partnership, the players of R Esports will now represent Philips’ brand OneBlade in all BGMI tournaments between July 1 to October 1, 2023.

The roster comprises the following players:

Abhinav “Hero” Kumar
Harshit “Kanary” Kashyap
Dev “Jaadu” Sapra
Badal Kumar Behara
Almaz Rahman
Akhand “Jallad” Pratap Singh

The squad has been competing together in several tournaments since the game was unbanned last month. They competed in the first official BGMI esports event for BGMI 2.0, the Rising as Team Kanary. However, they could only manage a 16th-place finish.

Most recently, they participated in the IQOO Pro Series and the Lidoma Battleground Invitational but couldn’t perform well. In the IQOO Pro Series, they finished a lowly 31st place while they could manage a 13th position finish in the Lidoma Battlegrounds Invitational.

OneBlade to participate in the BGMI Masters Series

The press release announcing the new team mentions that OneBlade will participate in the BGMI Masters Series. The Masters Series is an official tournament by Krafton which was hosted by Nodwin Gaming in Delhi, India last year.

With a prize pool of about $190,000 and a four-week LAN event, it was one of the biggest BGMI esports events to date. Additionally, the tournament was streamed on television as well for the first time.

Currently, neither Krafton nor Nodwin Gaming have announced any details about the BGMI Masters Series. However, it seems that the invitational tournament is right around the corner with Philips confirming its entry into the tournament. The current deal for BGMI esports only runs until Oct. 1, 2023, so it’s likely that the tournament will begin before that.

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