Payal Gaming
Payal Dhare, known online as Payal Gaming, is an Indian gaming YouTuber and streamer best known for her Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) content.[1]
| Payal Gaming | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | ||||||||||
| Born | Payal Dhare Chhattisgarh, India | |||||||||
| Nationality | Indian | |||||||||
| Occupation(s) | YouTuber, streamer, esports creator | |||||||||
| YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Also known as | Payal Gaming | |||||||||
| Years active | 2020–present | |||||||||
| Genre(s) | Gaming (BGMI), streaming | |||||||||
| Subscribers | 4.6 million+ (September 2026) | |||||||||
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She is one of India's most prominent female gaming creators, and in 2024 she became the first Indian female gamer to win an international award, taking Streamer of the Year at the MOBIES.[2]
Early life and education
Dhare grew up in small-town India, drawn to mobile gaming long before streaming was seen as a viable career for women in the country.[3]
She has spoken about entering an overwhelmingly male industry and the scepticism and online harassment she faced, saying she had to prove herself twice over, first as a gamer, then as a woman in gaming.[4]
Her early life and family background remain largely private; she has kept the focus on her work and her community rather than her personal story.[5]
Career
Rise with S8UL
Dhare rose to prominence as a creator with S8UL Esports, one of India's biggest gaming organisations, which she joined in 2021, streaming BGMI gameplay to a fast-growing audience.[6]
Her streams mix high-level gameplay with an accessible, interactive style that has made her one of the most-watched female streamers in the country, with over 4.6 million subscribers.[7]
Breaking barriers
She has said she stayed because the community's support outweighed the trolls, especially the hundreds of queries she gets from young girls wanting to enter gaming.[8]
MOBIES 2024: international breakthrough
In December 2024 Dhare won Streamer of the Year at the MOBIES (Mobile Gaming Awards), held in Los Angeles, beating global stars including Nobru, RRQ Lemon, Regaltos and Wynnsanity.[9]
The win made her the first Indian female gamer to receive an international gaming award, a landmark for women in Indian esports.[10]
The victory came during a strong year for S8UL, which had already won at the inaugural MOBIES in 2023 and then took Mobile Organisation of the Year in 2024.[11]
Meeting the Prime Minister and mainstream debut
In April 2024 Dhare was the only female gamer invited to a roundtable discussion on gaming with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where she spoke about the industry's growth and the challenges facing creators.[12][13]
The Prime Minister's Office framed the meeting as a recognition of gaming as a serious creative industry, and Dhare's seat at the table as proof that women were central to its future.[14]
The meeting signalled how far gaming had travelled into the Indian mainstream, with gaming now described as a mainstream sport backed by the country's leadership.[15]
She later made her reality-television debut in "Alliance", a Prime Video series built around gaming creators.[16]
She remains one of the most visible faces of Indian gaming and a leading female creator in the community, regularly cited as an inspiration for young women considering streaming as a career.[17]
References
- ↑ https://www.news18.com/india/who-is-payal-dhare-top-female-award-winning-indian-gamer-who-met-pm-modi-8850463.html
- ↑ https://www.mobilityindia.com/s8ul-esports-secures-back-to-back-victories-at-mobies-2024-payal-dhare-becomes-indias-first-female-gamer-to-win-an-international-award/
- ↑ https://www.entrepreneurindia.com/influencer/payal.php
- ↑ https://www.sportskeeda.com/bgmi/news-payal-gaming-opens-barriers-facing-indian-gaming-industry
- ↑ https://www.sportskeeda.com/bgmi/news-payal-gaming-opens-barriers-facing-indian-gaming-industry
- ↑ https://www.entrepreneurindia.com/influencer/payal.php
- ↑ https://www.insidesport.in/?p=1069071
- ↑ https://www.livemint.com/news/india/sab-kuch-mere-aane-ke-bad-hua-hai-pm-modis-fun-interaction-with-indias-top-gamers-is-breaking-internet-watch-11712827840224.html
- ↑ https://www.mobilityindia.com/s8ul-esports-secures-back-to-back-victories-at-mobies-2024-payal-dhare-becomes-indias-first-female-gamer-to-win-an-international-award/
- ↑ https://www.indiatodaygaming.com/amp/news/story/s8ul-dominates-again-at-mobies-2024-as-mobile-organisation-of-the-year-payalgaming-is-streamer-of-the-year-1-5948
- ↑ https://www.socialmediadissect.com/s8ul-esports-secures-back-to-back-victories-at-mobies-2024-payal-dhare-becomes-indias-first-female-gamer-to-win-an-international-award/
- ↑ https://www.insidesport.in/?p=1081613
- ↑ https://www.newsonair.gov.in/pm-modi-interacts-with-top-indian-gamers/
- ↑ https://www.newsonair.gov.in/pm-modi-interacts-with-top-indian-gamers/
- ↑ https://sports.ndtv.com/othersports/prime-minister-narendra-modi-engages-in-discussion-with-indias-leading-gamers-to-champion-countrys-esports-industry-5445241
- ↑ https://newsmantra.in/payal-gaming-reality-tv-debut-alliance-prime-video/
- ↑ https://www.news18.com/india/who-is-payal-dhare-top-female-award-winning-indian-gamer-who-met-pm-modi-8850463.html