Launches ‘Airtel India Esports Tour’ - the first
national ranking of Esports players in the country
Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India ’s largest integrated telecommunications
company, and NODWIN Gaming, South Asia’s leading esports company, today
announced a partnership to further grow E-sports in India .
Given India ’s large
youth population and rapidly growing internet penetration, E-sports has the
potential to become a large part of the country’s mainstream sporting culture. It
is estimated that by 2021, online gaming will become a USD one billion plus market in India with over
620 million gamers.
The partnership has been
kicked off with the launch of Airtel India Esports Tour, which is the first and
largest property of its kind in this segment. It will also have a national
ranking and awarding system for Indian Esports players based on their year-long
performance across top tournaments will be used as a base to create a points
table for all participants.
Airtel India Esports Tour will
initially cover all NODWIN tournaments across gaming titles of PUBG Mobile,
CS:GO, Clash of Clans, FIFA, etc. The coverage will extend to all iconic NODWIN
tournaments such as the India Premiership by NODWIN, Dreamhack India , The
Northeast Cup, KO Fight Nights and PAN Fest. This will also cover NODWIN
operated tournaments such as the PUBG Mobile Pro league in India .
Post the culmination of the
annual tour, the final leaderboard across games will be presented to recognize
and reward the winners at an awards show celebrating the key players in the
ecosystem. The esports athletes, the teams, the talent, the best plays, etc.
The broadcast of the Airtel
India Esports Tour will be available on Airtel’s digital platforms and help
with taking this emerging format to newer audiences.
Initially, the Airtel India
Esports Tour will be seeded by NODWIN by its extensive tournament network but
will aspire to be a platform where all tournaments will carry weightage
independent of the organizer. The ecosystem will allow the flexibility of
choice for players to play what they want and when they want.