Ayogi, Aurum and Godspeed to coach India at Esports Nations Cup

NODWIN Gaming named Rahul ‘Ayogi’, Pratik ‘Aurum’ Mehra and Abhishek ‘GodspeedxD’ Bajaj among a coaching lineup tasked with selecting India’s rosters for the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC) in Riyadh, scheduled for Nov. 2–29, 2026. The tournament will feature 16 titles and a $20 million prize pool. India must submit final rosters by May 10.

Rahul ‘Ayogi’ will serve as national coach for Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI). He has led teams such as iQOO Soul (Team Soul) and Blind Esports to domestic championships and won the BGIS 2026 Grand Finals. His experience as an analyst and manager will be used in assembling the BGMI roster.

Pratik ‘Aurum’ Mehra is appointed to lead the PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS squad. His coaching record includes a win with Fnatic at PUBG Mobile All Stars India 2019 and a runner-up finish at the PUBG Mobile India Series 2020. Abhishek ‘GodspeedxD’ Bajaj will head the VALORANT program; he has won domestic titles with Velocity Esports, Revenant Esports and Bleed Esports and currently coaches Revenant XSpark. Godspeed’s responsibilities include naming five core players and two substitutes while complying with the ENC’s club-representation rules.

Other domestic appointments include Moin ‘NO_Chanc3’ Ejaz for DOTA 2, Pankaj ‘KAKA’ Upadhyay for League of Legends, Nirjhar ‘jocse’ Mitra for Rocket League and Ashrit ‘notyAshritB’ Goyal for Rainbow Six Siege. NODWIN also brought in international coaches: Steve ‘Dale’ Vitug from the Philippines for MOBA Legends: 5v5! and Gradyano ‘Rinnqt’ Valendy from Indonesia for Honor of Kings.

Titles without team-based coaches, including solo events such as Chess and Trackmania, will be decided through full open qualifiers. Coaches and tournament staff will identify players during the selection window before the May 10 deadline. Official national roster announcements are scheduled to begin in mid-May.

NODWIN Gaming is acting as the official National Team Partner for India at the ENC. India plans to enter teams in all 16 titles. Prize money will be distributed to athletes and coaches according to the tournament’s eligibility and club-representation rules.