After a successful first edition of the Skyesports League, which was broadcasted across seven languages and amassed over 3.7 Million viewers, Skyesports has announced that the league is returning in 2021.
The Skyesports League 2021 features a city-based model where eight teams will battle in Valorant for a share of the Rs. 15,00,000 prize pool — the biggest for Valorant esports in South Asia to date. Skyesports has continued its association with AMD Ryzen and WD Black, who are presenting and powering the tournament respectively. GOGAME has joined as the platform partner and ACT Broadband has joined as connectivity partner.
The Skyesports League 2021 continues to have teams from eight prominent cities, namely Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, and defending champions Hyderabad. Each city was represented by a team owner who participated in the player auction on 31March to select their roster.
Team owners bid for players/gamers from a pool of registered players and influencers in the auction. Each team players’ roster consists of four players and one content creator. Each team can have up to 10 players in order to complete their team slot. The league promises to have the most popular and influential gamers in India displaying their skills in Riot’s popular FPS.
The franchise owners for the Skyesports League 2021 are:
- Hyderabad Nawabs: Sentinel
- Bengaluru Crushers: Rushindra
- Delhi Dragon: Scout
- Mumbai Aces: 8Bit Thug
- Chennai Clutchers: MidFail
- Punjab Pinnacles: Hydra flick
- Rajasthan Strikers: Ghatak
- Kolkata Tridents: Kronten
The teams will descend into the battlefield from 9April for 55 days of non-stop action. They will compete in Valorant in a round-robin format with each team facing each other twice. It will be livestreamed on Skyesports’ YouTube channel in over six languages.
“The esports arena in India is only getting stronger and better with exciting tournaments like the AMD Ryzen Skyesports League 2021, which give immense opportunities to players to compete and push their boundaries with their smart gaming strategies”, shares AMD India marketing head, Mukesh Bajpai.
“AMD has always empowered the gaming community with its Ryzen and Radeon products and technologies, allowing gamers to gain an edge when playing top esports titles.”
Western Digital, director marketing, India, Jaganathan Chelliah, said, “We are glad to associate with Skyesports League 2021 and look forward to an exciting 55-days intense gaming. At Western Digital, our constant endeavor to introduce innovative products from the WD_BLACK portfolio to enhanced gameplay. We wish each player luck, and may the best team win. Let the game begin!”
Notably, Chennai clutchers’ logo was launched by emerging popular Kollywood actor Kathir and Hyderabad Nawabs’ logo has been launched by actor Abhinav Gomatam.