After a successful first year, the flagship tournament for esports in India, the ESL India Premiership is all set to return for an even bigger second year. This year, OMEN by HP will power the ESL India Premiership towards new records as the Title Sponsor. High performance gaming peripherals manufacturer, HyperX joins on the journey again as a partner. Red Bull rejoins the journey this year. Also joining would be Zowie by BenQ, who dons the role of the Monitor Partner. Finally, SoStronk will function as the Server Partner of the tournament. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA 2 and Clash Royale will be featured in the 2017 edition of the ESL India Premiership.
Matches for the second edition will commence from 26 April, 2017, and will run across three seasons (Summer, Fall and Winter) until 17 December, 2017. The tournament will feature a never-before-mentioned prize pool of $100,000 USD (approximately Rs 64 lacs). Furthermore, the tournament will feature three tiers, namely the Master League, Challenger League and Starter Cup. With promotions and relegations taking place across the tiers every month, the ESL India Premiership aims to activate an even more competitive spirit in the country. Matches from the elite teams present in the Master League will be broadcast daily on a popular live streaming platform. Whereas, the offline LAN finale for each season is scheduled to take place at Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi respectively. The ESL India Premiership is the only open league in the country and does not feature any entry fee for participating.
The highlights of the 2017 Edition of the ESL India Premiership are listed below:
- Prize pool bumped up to a massive $100,000
- 2017 edition will feature 3 Seasons – Summer, Fall and Winter
- Tournament begins from 26 April, 2017 and concludes on 17 December, 2017
- Season finales will take place in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi
- ESL India Premiership introduces a three-tiered structure. The top 2 tiers – Master and Challenger Leagues are closed leagues, whereas the Starter Cups act as open qualifiers
- Participants in the Master league are eligible for both appearance and winning fees. Challenger league participants will only receive winning fees. There are no match fees for Starter Cup participants.
- The top 3 competitive games such as CS:GO, DOTA 2 and Clash Royale are to be played
- Global brands such as OMEN by HP, HyperX, ZOWIE by BenQ and Red Bull have partnered for the event
- The ESL India Premiership is a free to play tournament and there is no entry fee for participating
In its inception year in 2016, more than 9,000 gamers took part, while the social media engagement crossed one million. Furthermore, 850,000 plus individuals watched the live streams and other VOD content. The total attendance for the offline ESL India Premiership events in 2016 surpassed 75,000 in footfall. Rs 42 Lacs/ $65,000 was dispensed in prizes across different game titles.
Supporting the growth of esports in India, ESL, MD, Ralf Reichert said, “We are incredibly proud to help foster the Indian esport community. Esport is the sport of the digital generation. The ESL Indian championship is the stage to find the best athletes in India and a stepping stone for the global competitions.”
AnimationXpress has been informed that the teams from last year’s Challenger tournament will be retaining their spot this year. Prize pool for all the three factions also differ.
It’s good to see game like Clash Royale is finding good player base in the country on the side of hugely popular titles like Dota 2 and CS:GO. The registrations began yesterday and Clash Royale already has over 65 registrations.