Bharti Airtel and NODWIN Gaming, South Asia’s leading esports company, today announced a partnership to further grow E-sports in India. Given India’s large youth population and rapidly growing internet penetration, E-sports has the potential to become a large part of the country’s mainstream sporting culture. It is estimated that by 2021, online gaming will become a USD one billion plus market in India with over 620 million gamers.
Airtel India Esports Tour will initially cover all NODWIN tournaments across gaming titles of CS:GO, Clash of Clans, FIFA, etc. The coverage will extend to all iconic NODWIN tournaments such as the India Premiership by NODWIN, Dreamhack India, The Northeast Cup, KO Fight Nights and PAN Fest.
The partnership has been kicked off with the launch of Airtel India Esports Tour, which is the first and largest property of its kind in this segment. It will also have a national ranking and awarding system for Indian Esports players based on their year-long performance across top tournaments will be used as a base to create a points table for all participants.
The broadcast of the Airtel India Esports Tour will be available on Airtel’s digital platforms and help with taking this emerging format to newer audiences.
Initially, the Airtel India Esports Tour will be seeded by NODWIN by its extensive tournament network but will aspire to be a platform where all tournaments will carry weightage independent of the organizer. The ecosystem will allow the flexibility of choice for players to play what they want and when they want.
