India and Pakistan battled it out on 28 September, in one of the most popular games, Counter-Strike in a cross-regional tournament, the Skyesports Souvenir 2023.
The Skyesports Souvenir, powered by AMD and Microsoft, is a cross-regional Counter-Strike esports tournament featuring India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, UAE, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The countries fight across a single-round robin format, with each match being the best-of-three games in the Group Stage. The top two teams from here will then advance to the Grand Finals, taking place on 30 September.
The match saw India, represented by Gods Reign, defeat Pakistan 2-0. The first game was played on the Mirage map, where both the teams traded rounds to find themselves in overtime. Team India came out on top with a clutch hit by Ember in the final round. The second map took place in Ancient. While India got off to a head start with a score of 4-0, Pakistan made a comeback in the later part of the match to bring the score to 14-10, just before taking the series to the third map. However, Team India made a strong comeback to win the next six rounds consecutively and clutch the series.
After the match, Gods Reign captain Hrishikesh “Crazy_Gamer” Shenoy said, “Undoubtedly, this was our most challenging series in the Skyesports Souvenir International Playoffs. Securing this win and making a major comeback in Map 2 was exhilarating. We entered the game confident, and I’m proud we maintained composure against a tough opponent. Our vision is now on the upcoming UAE match, which could secure our place in the finals.”
Team India is now tied with Team UAE at the top of the standings with both the teams having three victories and zero losses. The two teams are set to compete on 28 September. The matches will be live-streamed on the Skyesports YouTube and Loco channels.