From sleeping on Mumbai’s streets to building India’s esports future: Santanu Basu’s journey

In 2007, competitive gaming in India had no leagues, few sponsors and very few paid players. Tournaments came and went. Players paid their own way to reach them, and most quit when the money ran out. That year, a young football gamer arrived in Mumbai for a national qualifier with barely enough money for the trip. He had travelled part of the way in a train’s toilet compartment. He couldn’t afford a room, so he slept on the city’s streets. Then he finished third. That player was Santanu Basu, and the event was the World Cyber Games India qualifiers. The…