India’s homegrown e-sports company NODWIN Gaming has announced the launch of the 5th edition of its flagship tournament - ESL India Premiership 2020. The registration for the seeding cup of the Summer Season began on 21 May.

NODWIN has completed 4 editions of the ESL India Premiership. The company said that this time there are some changes, including the addition of play-offs between the sub-leagues, seeding cups for the new games and the exclusion of Challengers Cup.

PUBG MOBILE, FIFA 20 and Clash of Clans are the new additions to the line-up of games. While popular FPS CS: GO has been retained.

The company said that its social interaction post to find out new game title suggestions revealed that the most requested games were PUBG MOBILE and Clash of Clans.

The e-sports company noted that the addition of FIFA 20 would widen its audience base by incorporating the first console game to the tournament. While Clash of Clans, the fast-paced and easy-going strategy game is expected to attract larger participation and viewership as well. The online phase of the tournament will have two sub leagues - Starter Cups and Master’s League.

The broadcast of the Masters League will begin on June 1.

‘Ideal getaway’

Sidharth Kedia, Group CEO, NODWIN Gaming stated in an official statement: “The Premiership comes in as an ideal getaway for gamers in lockdown. New games and a new format are in place to kick start the season. PUBGM and CoC are certainly two of the biggest communities out there, and with FIFA 20, we have made our first step towards making console games an integral part of the Premiership.”

He added that the lockdown has pulled the shutter on all forms of sports competitions for the rest of the year, leaving e-sports as the only spectator sport being broadcast live on a major OTT platform like Hotstar. “I believe that the current scenario is a perfect springboard to mass consumption of esports entertainment,” he further said.

NODWIN Gaming in its efforts to build a complete e-sports ecosystem for the country has associated with multiple brands in the past. Continuing the association for the second consecutive year is the luxury automobile manufacturers Mercedes-Benz. While the OTT platform Disney+Hotstar resumes its journey with the Premiership as the official broadcast partner. Energy drink Red Bull makes a comeback to the Premiership after a short break.

“What’s exciting about having new games on-board is that we get to work with a new bunch of talented players every time. While on the technical side of things, we are now well-versed in remote tournament execution to produce and broadcast seamless e-sports entertainment for our viewers. We are expecting a phenomenal response for the summer season,” said, Gautam Virk, Chief Operating Officer, NODWIN Gaming.

The registration is free of cost and requires an ESL play account to be created by the user for the titles CS: GO, FIFA20, and Clash of Clans. While PUBG Mobile participants can register through the SoStronk platform. Gamers above 16 can register for PUBG Mobile and CS: GO while the age limit for registration of Clash of Clans and FIFA20 is 13 years and above, the e-sports company mentioned.

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