Asia

Ibrahim and Davlish to represent India at inaugural Sim Racing World Cup

Published

4 years ago

July 25, 2022

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Producing brilliant performances, Muhammad Ibrahim and Davlish Singh secured themselves spots in the Indian team for the inaugural Sim Racing World Cup after clinching the Top position by securing same points (43) at the National Esports Championships (NESC), concluded at the INOX Multiplex in Mumbai in a hybrid mode.

The National Esports Championships, conducted by the Esports Federation of India (ESFI), witnessed participation of the country’s 250 top sim racing drivers including Sai Prithvi, Prathamesh Yedre, Hari Krupanand and Jamie Shaw. The tournament was conducted in a hybrid model—online as well as offline—with the offline playoffs taking place at Mumbai’s INOX Megaplex and IISM Campus.

“We are delighted with how both the online and offline qualifiers were successfully conducted. All of the sim racing drivers displayed a healthy competitive spirit and maintained that till the finals to ensure that all of the races were well contested. I congratulate the winners, Muhammad Ibrahim and Davlish Singh on their remarkable achievement and back them to bring the trophy home. I would also like to thank INOX, IR Esports & IISM for their fantastic support and for making this event possible,” said Lokesh Suji, Director of Esports Federation of India and Vice President of the Asian Sports Federation.

The duo will now represent India at the prestigious tournament and fight against players from teams like Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Syria and Sri Lanka in the Asian Continental Qualifiers, scheduled from July 26 to 29. There are 2 slots given to Asian Continent for the grand finals and the two winning sim racers of the Asian Continental Qualifiers will earn themselves a place in the Global Finals to be held in Monaco.

Organised by the International Esports Federation in association with Monaco Esports Federation, Sim Racing World Cup will feature one of the world’s most popular sim racing titles, Assetto Corsa. There are a total of 39 countries participating in the Continental Qualifiers for Sim Racing World Cup 2022 and only the TOP 12 are going to MONACO!

The Grand Finals of NESC featured a total of two races with the winner being determined based on the total points accumulated from both races.

Ibrahim started on pole for the first race and maintained that position throughout the race, courtesy a brilliant drive. The second race started with a reversed order of the Top-8 finishers where Davlish finished on top followed by Ibrahim.

With both Ibrahim and Davlish tied on 43 points each in the summit clash, both emerged as joint winners of the national qualifiers.

“This is an excellent opportunity to represent your country on an international platform. Winning the qualifiers amongst 250 players overall gives me immense satisfaction and feels like a huge achievement but it also increases the pressure of performing well in the next stage for me. Undoubtedly, I will be practising a lot to achieve the best for my country with the upcoming Continental Qualifier also on my mind,” said an elated Ibrahim, who has also won the McLaren Logitech G Challenge earlier this year.

Davlish, who has been playing sim racing since 2019, added: “I believe this was one of the largest sim racing events in India yet where ESFI gave participants from all over the country a chance to fight for a spot to represent their country on the international stage. The event was very well organised with some very quick, competitive and fair racing from all the top drivers. The double sprint race formats with reversed grids made the races even more exciting.”

ESFI continued its partnership with the country’s top sports and Esports specialised communication firms, Artsmith – Concepts & Visions, which will continue its support as their communication partner for the prestigious Sim Racing World Cup. The number of slots (slots = number of sim racers qualified) per continent for the Grand Final in Monaco is as follows:

Europe: 3
Africa: 2
America: 2
Asia: 2
Oceania: 1

Wildcards for Monaco and Slovakia = 12 best sim racers in Monaco

appointments

OS Studios names Ishaan Arya country manager to lead India expansion

Published

4 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Wladimir P.

os-studios-names-ishaan-arya-country-manager-to-lead-india-expansion

OS Studios has appointed Ishaan Arya as Country Manager for India, tasking him with leading the agency’s expansion across newly established hubs in Bengaluru, New Delhi, and Mumbai. The appointment was announced on 25 June, 2026 in Bengaluru.

OS Studios, a Project Worldwide agency, said it recently entered the Indian market and will deploy its ‘Fan Z’ approach for brands looking to engage with gaming, esports and live events audiences in South Asia. The company said the expansion will leverage the infrastructure and production capabilities of sister agency George P. Johnson (GPJ) India.

“The future of gaming will be shaped by the communities that care about it most, and few markets embody that more than India,” said John Higgins, CEO of OS Studios. “To build something meaningful, you have to be part of the culture, not looking in from the outside. Ishaan understands that better than anyone. He’s exactly the kind of leader we want building the future of OS Studios in India.”

In the role, Arya will oversee operations, drive strategic brand partnerships, and scale local capabilities, according to the company. “Brands are investing heavily in Indian gaming, but true fan experience is too often an afterthought,” said Rasheed Sait, Chief Growth Officer for India and South Asia at Project Worldwide. “Alongside GPJ India’s experiential footprint, OS Studios will set a new standard for fan engagement in the region.”

Arya previously co-founded The Esports Club and most recently served as Vice President of Partnerships at Nodwin Gaming, where he led Comic Con India. “A massive gap remains between brand intent and authentic community engagement in India,” said Arya. “I’m thrilled to leverage Project Worldwide and GPJ India’s operational strength to build culture-defining experiences for brands and fans alike.”

The post OS Studios names Ishaan Arya country manager to lead India expansion appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Asia

PhilWeb Secures ₱2.02 Billion Strategic Investment from Lance Y. Gokongwei to Accelerate AI-Driven Technology Expansion

Published

1 day ago

June 25, 2026

Wladimir P.

philweb-secures-₱202-billion-strategic-investment-from-lance-y.-gokongwei-to-accelerate-ai-driven-technology-expansion

PhilWeb Corporation, a Philippine Stock Exchange-listed technology company serving licensed digital entertainment and gaming platforms, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement for a ₱2.02 billion strategic equity investment by prominent business leader Lance Y. Gokongwei.

The investment marks a significant milestone in PhilWeb’s transformation into an AI-enabled technology infrastructure company serving the regulated digital entertainment sector. Beyond the capital infusion, PhilWeb expects to benefit from Mr. Gokongwei’s strategic perspective, institutional experience and extensive business network as the Company strengthens its long-term technology roadmap and growth strategy.

Strategic Capital Infusion for AI and Technology Expansion

Under the definitive agreement, Mr. Gokongwei will invest an aggregate amount of ₱2,026,978,840.00 in PhilWeb. The strategic placement will be facilitated through a proposed increase in the Company’s Authorised Capital Stock from ₱2.6 billion to ₱3.6 billion, subject to the required corporate, stockholder and regulatory approvals.

The proceeds are intended to strengthen PhilWeb’s balance sheet and support the integration of advanced data and AI capabilities across its core technology roadmap:

• Enhanced Risk Management and Compliance Systems: Developing intelligent platform tools to support real-time risk scoring, transaction monitoring, suspicious activity detection and responsible gaming controls.

• Data Analytics and Platform Intelligence: Building secure data models designed to interpret user behaviour, optimise player lifecycle management and improve platform operating efficiency.

• Intelligent Recommendation and Retention Tools: Investing in automated recommendation engines to help licensed operators improve content discovery, platform performance and user engagement.

• Operational Automation: Enhancing internal and partner-facing systems through automation tools to optimise compliance workflows, reporting and high-throughput platform monitoring.

Strengthening PhilWeb’s Technology Moat

The transaction reflects growing investor interest in scalable technology infrastructure serving regulated digital entertainment ecosystems. PhilWeb has established a strong market footprint across the Philippine digital gaming and entertainment ecosystem, working with leading licensed operators, integrated resorts and platform partners including Hann Casino, Okada Manila, Newport World Resorts, NUSTAR Resort and Casino, FBM Philippines and PT Gaming. The integration of next-generation AI tools is expected to further strengthen PhilWeb’s domestic B2B infrastructure layer, enabling the Company to deliver greater operational efficiency, stronger compliance support and more scalable platform capabilities to its ecosystem partners while evaluating potential regional growth opportunities over time as market and regulatory conditions permit.

Management Perspective

“We are profoundly honored to welcome Lance Y. Gokongwei as a strategic anchor investor in PhilWeb. His investment represents a strong endorsement of our technology platform and long-term vision. Data intelligence and automated compliance tools are becoming essential layers of modern digital infrastructure. With Lance’s strategic investment and business network, PhilWeb is well-positioned to expand our AI technology roadmap, serve our established ecosystem of leading partners more efficiently, and evaluate long-term growth opportunities,” said Edgar Brian K. Ng, President of PhilWeb Corporation.

The post PhilWeb Secures ₱2.02 Billion Strategic Investment from Lance Y. Gokongwei to Accelerate AI-Driven Technology Expansion appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

ArenaPlus

DigiPlus Wins “Digital Operator of the Year” Award at 2026 Global Gaming Awards Asia-Pacific

Published

1 week ago

June 19, 2026

Wladimir P.

digiplus-wins-“digital-operator-of-the-year”-award-at-2026-global-gaming-awards-asia-pacific

DigiPlus Interactive Corp. (DigiPlus), the country’s premier digital entertainment provider behind BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone, has been named Digital Operator of the Year at the 2026 Global Gaming Awards Asia-Pacific, marking its second consecutive annual win in the category and reinforcing its leading industry position in the APAC region. The recognition was announced during the Global Gaming Awards ceremony held on June 2 at Conrad Manila.

One of the international gaming industry’s most prestigious awards programmes, the Global Gaming Awards, powered by Global Gaming Insider, recognise excellence in innovation, player experience, responsible gaming and operational excellence across both land-based and online gaming sectors. Winners are selected by a panel of senior industry executives with extensive experience and deep knowledge of the market, with the voting process independently adjudicated by KPMG to ensure rigor and transparency.

The Digital Operator of the Year category recognises operators that have demonstrated outstanding growth, innovation and player engagement over the past 12 months. DigiPlus emerged victorious from a shortlist of eight nominees, besting seven other operators across APAC.

Judges highlighted DigiPlus’ strong 2025 performance, the addition of over 500 new e-games on its platforms, and the rollout of industry-first responsible gaming tools. The company also continues its momentum in 2026 through major partnerships, including recently launched collaborations with Manny Pacquiao and the National Basketball Association (NBA).

In addition to its top industry honor, DigiPlus earned further recognition for its social impact initiatives, securing the first runner-up spot in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the Year category.

The awards body commended DigiPlus for its impressive CSR work via the DigiPlus Foundation which delivers healthcare, education, disaster relief, and social empowerment programs to over 1 million beneficiaries and counting across the Philippines.

“We are honored to once again be recognized by the Global Gaming Awards. These prestigious international industry accolades reflect DigiPlus’ unwavering pursuit of excellence and our drive to continuously innovate, deepen player engagement, and champion responsible gaming across BingoPlus, ArenaPlus, and GameZone,” said DigiPlus Chairman Eusebio H. Tanco.

“Together with the recognition for DigiPlus Foundation, this back-to-back win affirms our commitment to delivering world-class digital entertainment to Filipinos while contributing to nation-building.”

The Global Gaming Awards also hold annual editions in the Americas and EMEA regions, recognising industry excellence across the globe.

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