Following the substantial success of Playground 2 which garnered more than 100 million reach, 80 min time spent per viewer and 125k peak concurrence, Rusk Media, a leading full stack Gen-Z first digital entertainment company is back with a brand new gaming IP – the Playground Exhibition Cup (PGEC) 2023 powered by Duolingo.
The pioneering tournament will bring together six of India’s biggest content creators including Ajey Nagar (CarryMinati), Ashish Chanchlani, Tanmay Singh (Scout), Harsh Beniwal, Nischay Malhan (Triggered Insaan), and Naman Mathur (Mortal), with the aim of transforming the competitive gaming landscape in India.
The PGEC 2023 marks the grand opening of Playground’s highly anticipated annual programming and will pave the way for the exhilarating Playground eSports League followed by the exciting Playground Season 3. The PGEC 2023 promises to be a thrilling journey that will unite gaming enthusiasts through its electrifying, nail-biting action and showcase the best gaming talent in the industry.
Through its groundbreaking approach of forging entertainment with gaming, Playground has established its position as one of the most prominent IPs of the gaming world.
Playground in association with its partnering sponsors bagged two awards at ABBY’s 2023 including a silver for the Most Innovative Use of Gaming in association with KFC and a bronze for Innovative Use of Branded Content in association with Charged by Thumbs Up. It also won the Best Digital Strategy at EMVIES 2023 for KFC, and Best Use of Social Media for Content Marketing at SAMMIE 2022, Best Digital Marketing Campaign for a web original at ScreenXX 2022.
Rusk Media CEO Mayank Yadav said, “We are thrilled to announce the Playground Exhibition Cup 2023 which is an effort to redefine competitive gaming tournaments in the country. Through the Playground IPs, we have constantly strived to tap into the Gen-Z audience by pushing the boundaries of entertainment and merging it with gaming to provide a memorable experience of the highest quality. However, with PGEC 2023 we have crafted an innovative tournament that will cater to the hardcore gaming demographic of the country and propel competitive gaming to unprecedented heights.”
The PGEC will feature a total of six teams with five of these teams hailing from the prestigious Playground 2 (PG2), including:
- The Dare Dragons mentored by CarryMinati and captained by Jay Khatri
- The AAA Werewolves led by Triggered Insaan and captained by Vanshaj Singh
- The Power Phoenixes commanded by Harsh Beniwal and captained by Harshit Kashyap (Kanary)
- The OP Unicorns guided by Scout and captained by Harshit (Gunshot)
- The KO Krakens, spearheaded by Ashish Chanchlani and captained by Nikhil (Bloodline)
Joining them will be the dynamic Raging Centaurs who will be mentored by Mortal and captained by Raviraj (Sunlord).
The tournament boasts an impressive prize pool of up to INR 25 lakhs with the Player MVP Prize Money amounting to Rs 5 lakhs, while the winning team and runners-up being awarded Rs 10 lakhs and Rs 5 lakhs, respectively.
The tournament is powered by Duolingo and overall experience will be enhanced by its exclusive Grooming Partner Bombay Shaving Company, its Travel Partner EaseMyTrip and its voting Partner Rumble.
Fans will be treated to an immersive gaming experience with the tournament being streamed live on Playground’s channel on Youtube from 9 – 25 June at 6:30 pm on every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Full squads of the six teams:
1. Dare Dragons
Mentor – CarryMinati
Players – Jay Khatri (Captain), Chirag Nangru aka Pingu, Manush aka Drop, and Noopor aka Alexa
2. AAA Werewolves
Mentor – Triggered Insaan
Players – Vanshaj Singh (Captain), Abhinav Shukla, Priyanka aka Alexa, and Gaurav Singh aka BT Android
3. Power Phoenixes
Mentor – Harsh Beniwal
Players – Harshit Kashyap aka Kanary (Captain), Kunal aka Chumma, Aman Dubey aka Android Gamer, and Dolly Sadana aka Senorita
4. OP Unicorns
Mentor – Scout
Players – Harshit aka Gunshot (Captain), Abhishek aka IQ Master, Aditya aka Bullet, and Shikha Kashyap aka Shiny Kash
5. KO Krakens
Mentor – Ashish Chanchlani
Players – Nikhil aka Bloodline (Captain), Anirudh Sharma, Shantanu aka ShanN, and Mukti Asin
6. Raging Centaurs
Mentor – Mortal
Players – Raviraj aka Sunlord (Captain), Parag Gaur aka PG207, Akhil aka Spark, and Madhuja