NEW DELHI: When 21-year old Reuben Pereira quit playing the online version of FIFA football in 2010, he had already raked in Rs 15 lakh in the four years as a professional game.
For Ankit Panth and four of his teammates, 2017 is a make or break year to carve their identities as the best players of the widely popular online game: Counter Strike. “Our day begins at 10 am and we call it a night around 2 am. We normally practice for 7-9 hours every day and up to 12 hours before a major event,” 28-year old Panth told ET.
These aren’t isolated stories, but are part of a growing community of eSports and professional online gamers in India. What began for many as local tournaments in neighbourhood cyber cafés, a decade ago, is now shaping up as a major organised sport with big bucks thrown in.
With the rise of online gaming in India, international tournaments have taken notice. For instance, eSports startup eGamers Arena recently signed an exclusive partnership with World Cyber Arena (WCA), one of the largest gaming championships worldwide.
The partnership will grant eGamers Arena exclusive rights to host the national qualifiers in India for the championship that will be held in China at the end of 2017. At stake is a $28 million jackpot that winners of online games like DoTA2, Counter Strike and Overwatch get to take home.
According to website esportsearnings.com, the total prize money in eSports in 2016 was over $93 million and average player earned $6,962.Consultancy Deloitte expected eSports to generate global revenues of $500 million in 2016, up 25% from $400 million the previous year. “eSports in India today is in nascent stage but at an inflection point,” said Lokesh Suji, founder and chief gamer at eGamers Arena (EGA).
“Last year in India, couple of smart brands like Mt. Dew and Flipkart realized the potential of eSports and…(organised) tournaments like DewArena, Flipkart Gaming online Championship, IeSC, ROG Masters and ESL India which cumulatively had a prize pool of approximately Rs. 77 lakh,” he added.
Online gaming is recognised by the governments of nearly 14 countries, and more than 18 FIFA Clubs like Manchester United which already owns eSports teams.For the players of these games, esport is just like physical sports industry -inviting team sponsorships, coaches, data analysts, commentators and brand endorsements. In more advanced countries, players have their own coaches and data analysts as well. India, in spite of being a vibrant community of gamers, has been slow to capitalise on the t ..
“China leads the eSports industry and quality of their players & infrastructure is unmatched; eGA in its quest to bring best of the opportunities and exposure for the Indian gaming community, has been in discussions with WCA for quite a time now and in December’16 these discussions concluded with WCA & eGA Partnership” said Ashish Bhatia – CoFounder of eGA.
Winning such tournaments isn’t a child’s play. Panth’s team, called Team Brutality, subjects itself through ‘boot camps’ before major tournaments. The five players live together for a month or more, and practice in one location and work on playing as a team. “If you do not have all the five people on the same page, it won’t work,” said Panth.
Last year alone, Team Brutality participated in events with a combined prize pool of Rs 20 lakh. Acceptance from families is certainly an issue, but most gamers find a way for them to come around.
Last year alone, Team Brutality participated in events with a combined prize pool of Rs 20 lakh. Acceptance from families is certainly an issue, but most gamers find a way for them to come around.
“Gaming has taught me so much. I can multitask, doing several things simultaneously, because of gaming. I can type like a maniac and it has helped my overall ability,” said Pereira. Suji, who pegs the number of Indian gamers at 10 million, said Indian ProGamers are catching up fast, with a couple of teams having already played inter nationally.
[Source:-Et]