eSports

7 state ministers unveil franchise teams for Esports Premier League 2021, the final leg of ESPL to kickstart on August 16

Published

3 years ago

August 16, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

India’s first-ever franchise-based Esports league, the Esports Premier League (ESPL) has finalised the top eight teams as the ultimate face off in the inaugural edition of the nation-wide Esports league is set to begin on August 16. State ministers from seven regions launched their respective franchise team names, logos, and jerseys.

While the Esports industry has been in quest to gain legitimacy and recognition from the government, involvement and acceptance from the government at this level to the tournament is a giant stride for Esports industry in India.

“To have the best gamers from across the country representing final eight franchise teams as well as their team’s official jersey being unveiled by the state ministers is a matter of absolute honor and pride. Even in its inaugural edition, ESPL has received exceptional response from the Esports community, the players and the audience,” said Mr. Vishwalok Nath, Director, ESPL.

Here is the complete list of Ministers and personalities that unveiled teams representing their respective states:

Mr. V. Srinivas Goud

Hon’ble Minister of Sports & Youth Services

Govt. Of Telangana

Mr. Sunil Chhatrapal Kedar

Hon’ble Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare

Govt. of Maharashtra

Mr. Manish Sisodia

Deputy Chief Minister

Govt. of Delhi

Mr. Manoj Tiwary

Hon’ble Minister of Department of Youth Services and Sports

Govt. Of West Bengal

Mr. K.C. Narayana Gowda

Hon’ble Minister of Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports Department of Planning

Govt. of Karnataka

Mr. Ashok Chandna

Hon’ble Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs (Independent charge)

Govt. of Rajasthan

Mr. Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi

Hon’ble Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs
Govt. of Punjab

RJ Balaji

Radio jockey, director, sports broadcaster, and writer based out of Chennai

The final eight franchises teams and the players were chosen through a draft process. And the teams that are qualified through various stages of the competition for the draft process include BADGE99, Total Gaming, 4 UNKNOWN, TSM FTX, No Chance, AFF Esports, Head Hunters, and TWO SIDE GAMERS. Each of these teams were picked to represent a city team and in the final stage during the draft, popular influencers and Esports gamers were roped in to conduct the process.

The eight franchise teams are Punjab Paladins, Chennai Celestials, Delhi Dukes, Hyderabad Hydras, Kolkata Kaijus, Rajasthan Reapers, Mumbai Marshals, and Bangalore Ballistics. Below is the complete list of players of all these teams who will represent the respective state teams:

BADGEE99 will represent Kolkata Kaijus

Ø Hriteek Ranjan

Ø Muhammed Faizal. N

Ø Prahast Garg

Ø Azmal Akhtar Choudhury

Ø Yogesh Buchale

Total Gaming will represent Hyderabad Hydras

Ø Ajay Sharma

Ø Vora Hetkumar

Ø Daksh Garg

Ø Narai Yadav

Ø Anshul Rawat

4 UNKNOWN will represent Rajasthan Reapers

Ø Swastik Madhukar Dushing

Ø Anand Madhukar Dushing

Ø Radhe Thakor

Ø Vadehr Anil Devashibhai

Ø Mohd Zuber

AFF Esports will represent Delhi Dukes

Ø Owais Bhati

Ø Kanishk Verma

Ø Rahil Katoch

Ø Pavan Adwani

Ø Arpit Tyagi

TWO SIDE GAMERS will represent Bengaluru Ballistics

Ø Ritik Jain

Ø Ojasvi Kamra

Ø Vihan Datta

Ø Bhavesh Lakhwani

No Chance will represent Chennai Celestials

Ø Priyansh

Ø Devesh Chauhan

Ø Aritra Adak

Ø Priyanshu Kumar

Ø Soumya Sundar

TSM FTX will represent Mumbai Marshals

Ø Sagar Patel

Ø Indranil Saha

Ø Jayesh Yadav

Ø Naitik Khosto

Ø Asjad Khateeb

Head Hunters will represent Punjab Paladins

Ø Satyam Thakur

Ø Md. Abdul Moghni

Ø Aasim Usama

Ø Jatin Taneja

Ø Priyanshu Halder Saha

ESPL 2021, which began on June 16, will see the athletes competing in the popular battle royale game Free Fire as the winners will have INR 25 lacs prize money to win.

This final phase has lot more in store and a spectacle series of matches and exciting live-action will be streamed on Disney+ Hotstar, Free Fire official streaming platform Booyah and Malayalam OTT platform Koode alongside official YouTube and Facebook channels of India Today and Aaj Tak and its websites.

Craig Levine

Zenni Optical Announces Partnership with ESL FACEIT Group (EFG)

Published

2 days ago

May 17, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

zenni-optical-announces-partnership-with-esl-faceit-group-(efg)

Zenni Optical, the world’s leading online eyewear retailer, announced a partnership with ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the leading esports and video game entertainment company. Designed to integrate eye health education with innovative eyewear solutions for the esports community, the partnership will officially launch at DreamHack festival in Dallas, taking place from May 31 to June 2.

This collaboration will showcase a co-branded collection of lifestyle and competitive eyewear and accessories, highlighting Zenni Optical’s commitment to promoting overall eye health, particularly in addressing issues like eye fatigue and strain. Additionally, the initiative will incorporate essential eye health education across various DreamHack Festivals, in alignment with EFG’s broader mission to foster inclusive gaming worlds and engaged, supported communities.

“DreamHack and ESL represent some of the most community-centric and prestigious competitive events in the world. In their own unique ways, they embody esports for everyone. By partnering with these incredible brands across the gaming and esports spaces, we aim to create engaging experiences that combine eye-health education with innovative eyewear solutions for players and fans at all levels,” said Robb Chiarini, Head of Gaming, Sports, & Events at Zenni Optical.

“We are thrilled to partner with Zenni Optical as the Official Eyewear Partner of DreamHack and ESL. The genuine passion that Zenni has for the esports industry is a refreshing sight to see, and a major driving factor for the decision behind our partnership. Zenni’s ongoing commitment to provide eyewear for everyone mirrors our own drive to create worlds beyond gameplay for gamers everywhere,” Craig Levine, Co-CEO at EFG, said.

Bucks Gaming

CREAM CITY CONVERGENCE ESPORTS TOURNAMENT SELECTED AS CAPCOM PRO TOUR EVENT

Published

3 days ago

May 16, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

cream-city-convergence-esports-tournament-selected-as-capcom-pro-tour-event

Bucks Gaming’s Cream City Convergence Esports Tournament has been selected as a Capcom Pro Tour event, becoming one of just three tournaments in North America chosen to be a qualifier for the prestigious Capcom Cup.

The Capcom Cup is an annual Street Fighter 6 competition, hosted by video game developer and esports organizer Capcom, with a $1 million first place prize. Each year, Capcom selects a small number of tournaments worldwide to serve as Capcom Pro Tour events, with the winning players from each event qualifying for the Capcom Cup. As one of the tournaments selected by Capcom for the honor this year, Cream City Convergence will become the first esports event run by an NBA team to work with a major esports organizer.

Top-ranked Street Fighter 6 players will compete at Cream City Convergence when it returns for its second year on Saturday, Aug. 24, at Baird Center. In addition to Street Fighter 6, this year’s tournament will also have brackets for Tekken 8; Super Smash Bros Ultimate; Super Smash Bros Melee; and Guilty Gear: Strive.

eSports

Kambi and Abios Join ESIC as Anti-Corruption Supporters

Published

4 days ago

May 15, 2024

Niji Narayan

kambi-and-abios-join-esic-as-anti-corruption-supporters

Reading Time: < 1 minute

The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has announced Kambi and Abios, its esports data subsidiary, as new ESIC Anti-Corruption Supporters. This partnership signals the alignment of Kambi’s longstanding commitment to corporate probity and sports integrity with ESIC’s ongoing battle against match-fixing and corruption in esports.

Kambi and Abios join a distinguished class of other Anti-Corruption Supporter stakeholders who have historically worked with ESIC to ensure that attacks against the competitive integrity of esports competition are appropriately reported and dealt with. Anti-Corruption Supporters assist ESIC in investigating suspicious betting activity, supporting ESIC’s broader mission to combat cheating and betting fraud in the esports industry. Kambi and Abios’ entrance into the Anti-Corruption Supporter class will see the entities actively work with ESIC to assist in ESIC’s mission to disrupt, prevent, investigate and prosecute all attempts to compromise competitive integrity in esport competition.

Abios’ Managing Director and Founder, Anton Janér, commented: “Our mission at Abios has always been to enable the sustainable growth of esports. As such, we’re incredibly excited to join ESIC in their mission to future-proof esports through combatting match-fixing and other integrity-related malpractices. Fair play is a crucial component in ensuring the viability of esports as a long-term community and investment and we hope to be able to support the industry together with ESIC going forward.”

Stephen Hanna, ESIC’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are pleased to welcome Kambi and Abios as Anti-Corruption Supporters. Kambi and Abios are well trusted and recognised operators in their respective industries, and their entrance into the Anti-Corruption Supporter class of ESIC membership emphasises their shared commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity and fair play within the esports industry.”

The post Kambi and Abios Join ESIC as Anti-Corruption Supporters appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.