Saumya “Saumraj” Raj stands out in the BGMI esports ecosystem as a rare blend of elite in-game leadership, mechanical brilliance, and a self-made mindset. The BGIS 2025 Grand Finals ended not just with a trophy lift for Team VXT, but a burst of unforgettable drama when the IGL Saumraj, moments after victory, addressed star player Jonathan on stage.

“My dear self-proclaimed Jonathan, I’m still waiting for your comeback. Being MVP doesn’t build a kingdom — you have to bring the trophy home to truly establish one,” he said, electrifying the crowd.

In this exclusive interview, Saumraj is just as raw and fearless, offering a rare, unfiltered look into the mind of one of India’s most defining esports leaders.

In the last BMPS you had mentioned that your disappointing performance was an “IGL issue.” Can you explain what you meant by that?

Saumraj laughs as he reflects on the previous event: “I guess in the last BMPS I took too much pressure on myself, and I didn’t convey it to my teammates. I thought only I had to do everything.”

At the time, he felt that the team wasn’t quite clicking under his direction, but he’s quick to clarify that he won’t pin the blame on anyone but himself. “Of course I take all the responsibility. If the team chokes, it’s a sort of like yourself.” In other words, he sees himself as the fulcrum: when the team underperforms, it’s ultimately down to his own leadership.

Q2. What changed this time around—how did you find that boost in performance?

This BGIS 2025 season, Saumraj says, everything clicked because he learned to trust his squad. “I’m blessed with very good teammates right now, who play with me without any monetary support. They’re very young—18, 19, 20—while I’m 22. When I was their age I used to play exactly like them. So when I play with them, I enjoy and I feel young again.”

By offloading pressure, embracing a sense of fun, and leaning on their shared youthfulness, he shed the solitary burden he’d placed on himself and rediscovered why he loves leading on the battlefield.

Q3. You’ve been operating without any sponsors for nine months—how has that journey been, and what does it feel like to make history as an unsigned team?

“Man, I am getting goosebumps just talking about it,” Saumraj admits. “We just made history—a team without any sponsor on the trophy. And this is a reality check for all the community players: you don’t need a bootcamp, you don’t need an org, you just have to play well and give your best.”

Of course, sustaining the team’s lifestyle on their own has been “very, very, very difficult,” he says. They’ve had to conserve resources—cutting back on personal spending to funnel whatever they can into practice and travel. Nonetheless, he sees their underdog run as proof that raw talent and tenacity can triumph over big budgets and branded swag.

Q4. Looking ahead, do you think this sponsor-free model is sustainable in the long run?

Saumraj pauses and admits he doesn’t yet have a perfect answer: “I actually don’t know which path destiny will take us, but for sure, we’ll choose the best possible move and see how our journey continues.”

He welcomes offers but isn’t rushing into any decisions; his priority is finding whatever setup will let the team keep performing at their peak.

Q5. Finally, how has the tournament meta evolved from the last BMPS to this event, and did you or your opponents adapt any new strategies?

“Back then, I was a position-based IGL—very passive,” Saumraj explains. “But when the new point system came in, I had to build a more aggressive, dynamic mindset.”

With his teammates’ backing, he embraced the evolving “zone meta,” learning on the fly and tweaking his calls mid-tournament. “I learned a lot in this event, and I’ll try to execute those adaptations in the next events.”

In short, by shifting from a static approach to a more fluid, point-focused game plan in the BGIS 2025, Saumraj and his team stayed one step ahead of opponents who were still playing yesterday’s strategies.

The BGIS 2025 Finals shattered all previous records with an INR 3.2 crore prize pool (~$374,269 USD). Among the BGIS 2025 favorites, the champions Team Versatile took home INR 69.6 lakh (~$81,404 USD) with Jonathan’s Godlike Esports settling for the second spot.

Other golden badges under the man’s belt include first positions in BGIS 2021 and the recent ESL Snapdragon Pro Series Season 6: BGMI with a life time tournament earnings that is north of INR 4,805,000 (~$56,199 USD).

Saumraj’s focus on mindset, positivity, and result-driven performance — paired with an ability to adapt to changing metas — makes him not just a great captain but a transformational figure among the Indian mobile esports athletes.