ESL, the world’s largest gaming network in partnership with NODWIN Gaming, announced the season ending finale ‘ESL India Premiership – 2016 Masters’ from 9 to 11 December, 2016 at NSIC Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi. The Masters is the culmination of the yearlong events, and will feature the top gamers from South Asia.
In this event, the 8 teams / players will battle in each game, namely – DOTA 2, CS: GO & Clash Royale. The winners will be going home with a prize pool of Rs 18.75 lacs.
Under CS: GO, prominent teams such as Invisible Wings, Brutality, Overcome, SemperX, D2D, and Elements will participate. In DOTA 2, Beyond Infinity, Invisible Wings, XRG, and Standin 5 will fight for the ultimate prize. A team from Bangladesh who were crowned victors at Challenger 2 will join them. For Clash Royale, Mrin, PP, Devilstwin and Darknite will return to contest the crown. Joining them will be the four winners from online and offline open qualifier playoffs, which will be held on the first two days of the final event.
The Masters will be hosting a Cosplay Competition as well. The winner will get a chance to represent India at ESL One – Genting, taking place in Malaysia from 6 to 8 January, 2017. A Just Dance competition will also be a part of the Masters Arena. The participants will dance to the tunes in this popular rhythmic game and the finalists chosen from on spot challenges will battle it out on the main stage to win cash prizes.
Speaking on the occasion, NODWIN Gaming, MD, Akshat Rathee said, “I am very excited for this finale that marks an imperative achievement in the eSports industry. We feel immense pride to say that our continuous efforts have led to the beginning of the eSports boom in India. This platform gives an opportunity to the e-gaming enthusiasts in the country to explore their potential and build a career in gaming.”
The ESL India Premiership hosts widely played competitive games like: Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO), Clash Royale and DOTA 2. It is a year-long event that has been divided into sub events: 6 Starter Cups, 2 Challengers and The Masters. Teams started their expedition by registering in the monthly online tournaments, the Starter Cups. The two winning teams from each one of them then headed for the battle at the Challengers. The Challengers were bi-yearly events held at two iconic locations in India – Pune and Bengaluru. The Challengers have already benchmarked new standards in Indian E-sports, with an extraordinary number of almost three lacs unique viewers throughout the span of the event.
ESL has been conducting tournaments in more than 13 regions around the globe. Partnered with an Indian company, NODWIN Gaming, ESL launched as the ESL India Premiership in the early 2016. With a gargantuan prize pool amounting to more than Rs 42,00,000 ($64,000) and an array of gaming events, Premiership has revolutionised the Indian e-Sports scene over the past few months.
