The Indian Gaming League has been established, adding gaming to the list of sports that have a major professional league in India. The League is sponsored by Major League Gaming, Sony Playstation, Red Bull and Paytm, and will feature franchises in Dota 2, FIFA, Counter Strike, Halo, LOL, and CoD.
Founded by young cousins Yash Pariani and Krish Galani, the Indian Gaming League (IGL) brings esports to the list of sports that have a major professional league in India.
Galani founded a Fantasy Pro League in the US, which conducted the US’ first-ever female-only Call of Duty competitive league. Pariani is a DJ and owns “One World Productions” in Greece.
Pariani has reportedly said:
The gaming industry in India is currently worth $500 – 600 million and this figure could increase as the league grows. The aim is to create a sustainable esports industry where more and more people could take up competitive gaming as a profession.
The Indian Gaming League structure will be based on the popular cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League (IPL). IGL will consist of six city-based franchises for each game played under the league. Currently, the featured games include: Dota 2, FIFA, Counter Strike, Halo, LOL, and Call of Duty. This means that there could be up to 36 teams under IGL.
According to Pariani, players on each team will be paid 15,000 – 20,000 Indian Rupees (approximately $218-$291) per month by their franchise owners in an effort to “build trust with gamers”.
Famed Bollywood actor and producer Sanjay Kapoor will provide sustenance for the FIFA Chennai franchise. He claims to be a gamer and believes that the gaming industry will pick up in a big way.
“We will be doing an official announcement in late March, early April to confirm the owners. But, yes I can tell you that some other celebrities and corporate start-ups are interested in purchasing franchises,” Pariani added.
The Indian Gaming League is sponsored by Major League Gaming (MLG), Sony Playstation, Red Bull, and Paytm – an Indian e-commerce shopping website. Various corporations and start-up companies have already shown an interest in picking up teams.
The League has already received more than 1000 applications.
Indian Gaming League tournaments
IGL will be hosting various ongoing tournaments. Players will be able to purchase credits and play online leagues, where both the teams and the individual players will earn points.
The online tournaments are geared towards identifying teams and players that could be considered free agents. Winners of these “qualifiers” could be picked up and bid on by the franchise owners.
The playoffs will be held in various Hoppipola bars across the country and the finals will be held in Mumbai. Further details on the offline portions have not been released yet.
Interested parties can follow the details on the Indian Gaming League website and Facebook page.
Featured image from Playmax cafe in India
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