GamingMonk

GamingMonk (GamingMonk Entertainment Private Limited) is a New Delhi-based esports company founded in 2014 by Amity University graduates Abhay Sharma and Ashwin Haryani. It began as an e-commerce marketplace selling consoles, gaming titles and accessories, and later pivoted to organising esports events. It initially focused on offline events before expanding into online tournaments.

The platform hosts competitive tournaments across PC, console and mobile, covering titles such as PUBG, CS:GO, DOTA 2, FIFA, Call of Duty and Clash Royale. Beyond tournaments, it positioned itself as a launchpad for game publishers and a community for gamers, combining esports competition, live streaming and content discovery in a single ecosystem, alongside gaming content and other engagement programmes.

In April 2021, esports and skill-gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) acquired GamingMonk for an undisclosed sum and absorbed the entire GamingMonk team. MPL said the deal would help it bring national, regional and global tournament IPs to market and build a full suite of esports and broadcasting capabilities. Concurrently with the acquisition, MPL launched Esports Arena, a banner for fortnightly esports tournaments in games including chess, WCC and pool.

Founding story

GamingMonk was founded in November 2014 by Abhay Sharma and Ashwin Haryani, both graduates of Amity University. The company started as an e-commerce marketplace for gaming consoles, titles and accessories, then pivoted to organising esports events. Co-founder Ashwin Haryani has described the company's vision as changing the esports scenario in India.

Business model

The company organises online and offline competitive esports tournaments and builds a gamer community, serving as a launchpad for game publishers and offering live streaming and content discovery alongside prize tournaments and engagement programmes.

Traction

As of April 2021 GamingMonk had a registered user base of over 1.3 million. In 2019 it claimed to have organised more than 200 competitive tournaments across India with 35,000 participants, and a 500% increase in user base over the preceding six months. Inc42 reports revenue of Rs 1.6 crore in FY21, up 164% from Rs 60.1 lakh in FY20.

Latest developments

Mobile Premier League announced the acquisition of GamingMonk on 20 April 2021 for an undisclosed amount, absorbing the full team, and simultaneously launched Esports Arena for fortnightly tournaments in games such as chess, WCC and pool, each carrying a Rs 10 lakh cash prize with free entry. Four such tournaments drew more than 70,000 registered participants and over 5 million livestream views. The MPL app (mpl.live) states that deposits are no longer available and that no cash games are offered in compliance with law.