Team Aryan x TMG Gaming, aPUBG Mobileesports team, has attracted some controversy after an image featuring the team’s lineup went viral, revealing that one of the players' usernames is simply ‘Hitler’, a name shared with the infamous Austrian fascist who led Germany during World War 2.
While some have pointed out the connection between the term Aryan and the name Hitler, this may not be intentional. Although the concept of an Aryan “master race” was used by white supremacists in Nazi Germany and elsewhere, the name has different connotations in India and Iran, where it’s derived from a Sanskrit term meaning noble.
One of the players on Team Aryan is named Aryan, but there’s no cultural justification for choosing the name Hitler. The team recently won the Battlegrounds India Mobile Series 2025, earning themselves a cash prize of approximately $145,000 and an invitation to the PUBG Mobile World Cup.
Stringent Naming Regulations
The PUBG Mobile World Cup is part of the second annual Esports World Cup (EWC), a multi-game tournament held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The competition is commonly accused of being a sportswashing venture by the Saudi government, i.e. the use of sport to improve a state’s public image while it simultaneously engages in unethical and/or immoral behaviour.
According to a report fromTalkEsport, the Esports World Cup has barred Hitler from using this username during the event, because of strict naming regulations in place for the competition. In all likelihood, the player will just compete under a different name for the duration of the event. There are several instances of players being forced to change their names to keep broadcasts professional.
Team Aryan x TMG Gaming will be competing against established esports brands at the PUBG Mobile World Cup, including Team Secret, DRX and Weibo Gaming. Last year, the competition was won by Alpha7 Gaming, a Brazilian team.
The PUBG Mobile World Cup takes place between July 25 and August 3, while other games at the Esports World Cup, such as Valorant, have already commenced.
