KRAFTON India Esports today announced the onboarding of Cohort 2 of its Rising Stars Programme 2026. The programme is expanding the structured framework it has built to identify, support, and develop the next generation of esports creator talent in India.
KRAFTON India Esports – Rising Stars Programme 2026 Cohort 2
The nine creators onboarded under Cohort 2 are Chirag Dua (ESWanted), Tanmay Sipahiya (K9xKnighT), Rohit Saxena (NebulaKRATOS), Jatin Kumar (4TRxJatinOG), Aarush Sharma (InfinixTRHydrO), Jasleen Kaur (LExJasleen), Sohail Shaikh (Hector), Akshay Kumar (WELTwJusty06), and Mohit Kumavat (iQOORGExLevi11), representing a diverse cross-section of emerging talent within India’s esports creator ecosystem.
Commenting on the announcement, Karan Pathak, Associate Director – Esports, KRAFTON India, said: “As the ecosystem grows, creators need more than moments of visibility – they need consistent opportunities to compete, improve, and stay relevant. With Rising Stars 2026, we have built a system that combines structured support with regular competitive exposure. Cohort 2 is an important part of that pipeline, allowing more creators to enter the system and earn their way forward through performance.”
The announcement follows a strong nationwide response to the 2026 edition of the programme, which drew over 2,500 registrations from gaming creators across the country – underscoring the growing appetite among India’s emerging creator community for structured, long-term development opportunities, rather than one-off moments of visibility.
The Rising Stars Programme 2026 has been designed as a tiered development model that supports creators at different stages of growth. Cohort 2 serves as a performance-based entry point within this structure, offering emerging creators access to in-game resources including room cards, strategic guidance, and increased ecosystem visibility.
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Dedicated Rising Stars Tournament in 2026
Critically, the cohort functions as a live pathway: creators who demonstrate consistency, engagement, and competitive performance through the year can progress into the Elite Rising Stars tier, making advancement merit-driven and transparent. As part of the 2026 structure, KRAFTON India Esports will host multiple dedicated Rising Stars tournaments throughout the year, giving creators regular opportunities to compete, showcase their skills, and gain structured tournament exposure alongside the main competitive circuit.
Launched in January 2025 as a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at identifying and nurturing emerging esports talent across India, the Rising Star Programme was designed to offer mentorship spanning live streaming skills, content creation, and personal branding. In its first year, Rising Stars participants produced over 1,260 pieces of content and 648 live streams, while achieving a combined follower growth of more than 218,000 across platforms.
Simultaneously, with consistent training, three alumni from the first batch – Oleed F (Evil), Samihan Kulkarni (Sam), and Saumraj – punched their way into the Quarterfinals of BGIS 2026. The 2026 edition builds on this foundation by moving to a more concentrated cohort-based model, placing greater emphasis on quality, accountability, and defined progression – bringing the total programme strength to 16 Rising Stars across cohorts.
The Rising Stars Programme is part of KRAFTON India Esports’ wider commitment to building a sustainable, talent-first ecosystem – one that spans open grassroots qualifiers, professional leagues, campus tours, and now a structured creator development ladder. By empowering and nurturing the next generation of players and creators, KRAFTON India is laying the foundation for a dynamic and sustainable ecosystem that will drive the industry forward for years to come.
