8Bit co-owner Animesh "8bitThug" Agarwal announced the BGMI Thug Invitational Season 5, which features a total prize pool of ₹8 lakh. The nine-day event will begin on 9 May and continue until 25 May.
The tournament will have two stages, i.e., League Stage and Grand Finals. Thirty-two invited teams will be divided into four groups of eight teams each. The League Stage will run across six days starting from 9 May, and the top 16 will reach the finals.
Invited teams in BGMI Thug Invitational Season 5
Group A
- TSM
- Team Xspark
- Chemin Esports
- 7Sea
- Enigma Gaming
- Hydra
- Revenge
- Brawlers
Group B
- Team Soul
- Team XO
- Global Esports
- Revenant
- Galaxy Racer
- Team Forever
- Reckoning Esports
- R E Esports
Group C
- GodLike Esports
- Team Insane
- Team Celtz
- Blind Esports
- Marcos Gaming
- Rivalry Esports
- Entity Gaming
- OR Esports
Group D
- Skylightz Gaming
- 8 Bit
- Hyderabad Hydras
- Orangutan
- Team INS
- Team Mayhem
- Walkout
- Team TRP
The Grand Finals will occur between 22 May and 25 May, and 18 matches will be played. The invitational will be livestreamed on Thug's YouTube and LOCO channels from 1.30 pm IST.
TSM is in fantastic form and will hope to continue its winning run in the event. The team won the recently concluded, first-ever BGMI LAN event, which featured a massive prize pool of ₹55 lakh. Their star player, NinjaJod, was the MVP of the event.
Hyderabad Hydras, Revenant, and Team XO also had emphatic performances in the LAN event, securing the second, third, and fourth spots.
Team Xspark won the Thug Invitational Season 4, where Gill and Viru were a part of the team. Both pros have left the side to join Godlike Esports. Since then, the team has not shown consistent performances.
GodLike has also had poor performances in the past few tournaments despite signing veteran player Gill. Currently, Viru plays for Enigma Gaming.
Soul, unable to attend the BGMI LAN event due to their star player Goblin's health issues, have returned for the tournament. These rosters will have a chance to perform well and meet the expectations of their fans.