Pakistan and India will face each other in an official PUBG Mobile tournament for the first time after nearly six years, reigniting one of the region’s biggest rivalries.

 

The highly anticipated face-off will take place at the PUBG Mobile World Cup 2025 later this month as part of the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

 

Pakistan qualified after finishing third at the PMSL Central & South Asia Spring 2025 in Almaty, beating top teams from across the region, claiming one of three slots available for Central and South Asia. The team will be represented by 4Thrives Esports.

 

Hopes for India rest on Aryan x TMG Gaming, who recently made headlines after winning the Battlegrounds Mobile India Pro Series 2025 Grand Finals held in New Delhi from July 4 to 6. By topping the BMPS, they earned India a direct ticket to the World Cup and will now face off against some of the world’s best.

 

The last notable time Pakistani and Indian PUBG Mobile teams competed was in 2020 in the PUBG Mobile World League 2020, where Team Free Style represented Pakistan.

 

Major changes were made in the competitive PUBG Mobile in South Asia after 2020. India’s version of the game was banned and relaunched as BGMI, and the country set its own separate events. Meanwhile, Pakistan relied on limited regional qualifiers with no clear path to compete internationally against India. Different regional leagues, political restrictions, and separate publisher strategies meant few or no opportunities for both countries to appear in the same official tournaments.

 

In 2020, the hype was driven by curiosity. Fans in Pakistan watched because it was new to see local players on the same map as Indian streamers and pro players they admired. 

 

This year, however, the format of the gaming competition has changed, and the clash between the two neighbouring rivals will take place on one of the biggest Esports stages in the world. Both teams qualified through official leagues under strict global regulations. Now, they’ll compete for pride and for a share of a record-breaking $3,000,000 prize pool.

 

Viewership is expected to be huge, with tens of thousands of Pakistani fans expected to watch live, whereas India’s PUBG Mobile community is known to garner hundreds of thousands of live viewers.

 

The PUBG Mobile World Cup 2025 will be held in Riyadh from July 25 to August 3 as part of the larger Esports World Cup. A total of 24 of the world’s best PUBG Mobile teams will take part.

 

The event will begin with the Group Stage from July 25 to 27. Teams will be split into three groups, with the top eight advancing straight to the Grand Finals. The Survival Stage will take place from July 29 to 30, giving the bottom 16 teams one last chance to qualify. The top 16 teams will then battle it out in the Grand Finals, which will run from August 1 to 3. 

 

Fans are excited to see their favourite players take the Pakistan-India rivalry beyond cricket and into the world of Esports.