Chennai Falcons have retained the Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL) title, with JetSythensys confirming that the franchise-based e-cricket league will return for a fourth season.
The Chennai Falcons defeated Mumbai Grizzlies 2-1 in the best-of-three final to lift the title for second consecutive season.The teams were level at 1-1 after the second contest before Chennai Falcons won the deciding match by two wickets.
Mumbai Grizzlies, owned by Sara Tendulkar, finished as runners-up, while Delhi Sharks, owned by Peyush Bansal, finished as second runners-up. Bengaluru Badgers, co-owned by Nikhil Kamath, Ankit Nagori and Prashanth Prakash, finished fourth.
Mumbai Grizzlies’ Jetha Ram was the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 488 runs and received the orange cap. Chennai Falcons’ Nadeem claimed the purple cap after taking 19 wickets, while teammate Deepak was named the emerging player of the tournament.
Ram also received the most valuable player award after contributing 488 runs and 14 wickets for Mumbai Grizzlies.
The season three marked a significant expansion for GEPL, with the league featuring eight franchises. Kolkata Hawks, owned by music icon Sonu Nigam, and Gujarat Wolves, owned by veteran esports scout, joined the six existing franchises. The teams were Delhi Sharks, Bengaluru Badgers, Chennai Falcons, Mumbai Grizzlies, Pune Stallions, owned by Suniel Shetty, and Hyderabad Rhinos, owned by Amit Mehta.
The season also marked GEPL’s first international broadcast and further expanded the league’s reach across sports, esports and entertainment. The competition has attracted business founders, investors and cultural figures as franchise owners.
JetSynthesys chairman Ranjan Navani said, “Season three has been the biggest proof yet of what GEPL set out to do – build a genuine sport, not just a tournament. Eight franchises, our first international broadcast, and a final as closely fought as this one are all signs that the ambition behind GEPL is real and only growing. My congratulations to Chennai Falcons on a hard-fought title defense, and to every franchise that made this season bigger than anything we’ve done before.”
The grand finale was attended by stakeholders including Tendulkar, Bangalore Badgers co-owner Prashant Prakash, Poonawalla Group chairman Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, Krafton India CEO Sean Sohn and Indian actor and television presenter Mandira Bedi.
Tendulkar, who has been involved with GEPL since the early stages of its second season shared, “Growing up surrounded by on field cricket my whole life, GEPL was something completely new for me, and there was so much to learn. What struck me most is how much dedication and hard work goes into e-cricket, just like the game I’ve grown up around. I couldn’t be prouder of what the Mumbai Grizzlies achieved this season. Chennai Falcons played brilliantly and thoroughly deserved the win”.
Chennai Falcons co-owner Gopal Srinivasan stated, “Congratulations to the Chennai Falcons on defending the title. Doing it in a season with eight incredibly competitive franchises makes this all the more special, and it’s something we’re genuinely proud of. GEPL keeps raising the bar every year, and it’s exciting to see our team innovate with new strategies and capabilities to continue to be best in class.”
Bangalore Badgers co-owner Prashant Prakash commented, “Finishing fourth in a field this competitive tells you how much stronger GEPL has become as a league. Every franchise this season had real depth, and the standard of play across all eight teams was noticeably higher than what we saw before. As an investor, that’s exactly the trajectory you want to see – a league getting harder to win, not easier.”
With the third season setting new benchmarks in scale, viewership and international reach, JetSyntheses has confirmed that GEPL will return for a fourth season. Plans are already underway to further strengthen the league’s community and grassroots footprints.
