The national qualification tournament, National Esports Championships’ selection of the Indian esports contingent for the 14th edition of the International Esports Federation’s (IESF) World Esports Championship that was to be held in Bali began on Saturday and is concluding today; Tekken7 star Hitesh Khorwal and Ritesh Sarda-led Team Wicked Gaming secured their places in the Indian squad.
The qualification tournament was conducted under the aegis of the Esports Federation of India (ESFI). Khorwal aka rcool and a five-member Team Wicked Gaming, comprising of skipper Sarda, Hrishikesh Shenoy, Anshul Ajay Adarkar, Shuvajyoti Chakraborty and Ninad Ramesh Sonare, sealed WEC berths after winning the Tekken7 and CS:GO titles respectively at the National Esports Championships, which saw a thrilling competition with the participation of top athletes from across the country virtually.
This year’s World Esports Championship shall be held in Bali from 27 November to 7 December and will boast of massive prize pool of $500,000 (rupees four crore).
CS:GO will see participation of 16 teams competing with veteran team consist of Ritesh Sarda (Captain), Hrishikesh Shenoy, Anshul Ajay Adarkar, Shuvajyoti Chakraborty, Harsh Jain and Ninad Ramesh Sonare), which won the last NESC2022 for 13th WEC, Eilat.
On the other hand, single-player title Tekken7 will witness participation of total 37 players, including top stars Hitesh Khorwal, winner of last NESC2022 (for 13th WEC, Eilat) and Rohit Jain winner of NESC2022 (for WSL2021) and Abhinav Tejan, who is the veteran of Tekken India.
As esports is getting popular across India, Wasfi Bilal, Shakir Khan and Arsalan Nabi Wani from Kashmir are also participating in the national qualifiers and Wasfi Bilal aka Yoshikiller719 is also amongst the top Tekken7 esports athletes of the country and will look to seal this year’s WEC berth.
“The NESC ’22 was a stupendous success in every possible way, there were many impressive results. This Indian contingent will be a tough one to beat and I’m certain that they will not only put up a strong fight but also strive for a podium finish. It’s great to see an immense interest among the Indian youth towards Esports. On behalf of the Esports Federation of India, I wish the entire squad best luck for the regional qualifiers,” said Esports Federation of India director and of the Asian Esports Federation VP Lokesh Suji.
The DOTA team, comprising of athletes like Moin Ejaz (captain), Krish, Abhishek, Ketan and Darshan, which qualified for the 2022 Asian Games, will be part of Team India for the 14th World Esports Championships.
With regards to PES2022, the recent update of PES/eFOOTBALL still does not have an option to hold online championship; given the situation, ESFI is evaluating to organise a physical event that may be held in Delhi/Mumbai. The dates and venue for the qualifiers will be announced soon.
The Indian contingent, selected based on their performances in the NESC2022, will take part in the World Esports Championships Regional Qualifiers, for which dates will be announced soon by the IESF. The Regional Qualifiers will be organised along with other continental federations.
“We played really well during our qualifiers and defended our national title. All our hard work and preparation before the event paid off. We have been grinding more since we got to know about the national qualifiers and the whole team put in extra hours for the qualifiers. There will be many good teams across our regional qualifiers and we are prepared to give them a tough fight and make our country proud,” Team Wicked skipper Sarda.
On the other hand, in single-player fighting game Tekken7, Khorwal also successfully defended his title after he brilliantly ended the sensational run of Kashmir’s Arsalan Nabi Wani aka KMR in the final with a 2-0 win. Arsalan had topped the winner brackets while Khorwal entered the final after leading the lower brackets as 36 athletes took part in Tekken7.
“NESC is always an arduous task for Tekken participants since our scene has progressed tremendously well and reached a new zenith. So, it’s a moment to cherish for me. It creates a perfect scenery of success for me after putting my blood and sweat into this game. I am also delighted to see the fresh faces in the scene who are already masters of the trade. This ultimately shows how far we have come as a community. This time I am more devised for the regional finals. As a mountain to climb it already is, I feel confident as well as prepared for this. It’s a great opportunity to prove my mettle against the literal virtuosos of the title and my body, soul and mind, are ready for it. Bring it on, Bali!” said Tekken 7 star Hitesh Khorwal aka rcool.
The Indian contingent will now take part in the World Esports Championships Regional Qualifiers, for which the dates will be announced soon by the IESF. For CS:GO and Tekken 7, Regional Qualifiers will be played but irrespective of the results, they will participate in the Global Finals to be held in Bali.