E-sports is picking up in India

Indian Esports has been making a steady comeback of late on the international stage.

Indian gamers have always felt they haven’t gotten their due when it comes to Esports; while most of the community is out bickering about the lack of opportunities, sponsorships and salaries a few have taken it upon themselves to make the most of every chance that comes their way.

Being the best in a country of a billion people is no small feat, however its not just about that. Esports is breaking boundaries across the globe with the likes of Mongolz from Mongolia and TempoStorm from Brazil surprising pro teams at Major events with some phenomenal performances. India on the other hand hasn’t shared that same success, most of our high profile major event appearances ended in disaster for teams, however, Indian Esports has been making a steady comeback of late on the international stage. Our Dota 2 teams are regularly performing well in the SEA qualifiers for upcoming majors with the latest being Beyond Infinity’s match against Fnatic in Semi Finals of the Manila Major qualifiers. With Team Brutality constantly improving in the official SEA FaceIt League with each passing season, it’s only a matter of time before we see them qualifying for a CSO GO Major.

Team events aside India seems to be enjoying more success, or at least opportunity with singles events in games like FIFA and PES. While the last FIFA appearance was at Paris Games Week way back in 2014, e-xpress Interactive hosted the India qualifiers for a major PES tournament culminating in Milan later this year.

After offline qualifiers in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru; 32 winners including the winners of the online PESLeague all met in Mumbai for the chance to be India’s representative at the international championship. Mumbai boy Aniruddh Joshi came out on top as the best PES player in India and is all set for his trip to Milan to face off against the best in the world. Speaking about his big win he says, “I cannot express how happy I am. I have been a PES player for 12 years and every year the game offers something new to the fans. After winning the Mumbai Qualifier, I practised every single day and it has paid off. It will be an honour to represent India in Milan and I will work harder to do well there.”

Speaking on his achievement, Anand Khemani, Co-founder of e-xpress Interactive Software Pvt. Ltd said, “We would like to congratulate Aniruddh Joshi and wish him good luck for his Milan trip. His achievement will inspire budding e-sports players in the country.” This isn’t the first event e-Xpress has hosted, with a history of local and national events for Mortal Kombat, WWE and Street Fighter however this is their first step in taking things to the next level.

Esports is definitely picking up in India, but now it’s up to the gamers to show they’re up to the mark and deserve these opportunities.