(Football news) Indian Super League became the country’s first major sports league to venture into competitive gaming with Football Sports Development (FSDL) and South Asia’s leading esports company NODWIN announcing the launch of eISL.
The first edition of eISL will debut alongside the Indian Super League 2021/2022 season from November 20th with the finals held on March 20th 2020. A mega prize pool of INR 74 lakhs with an additional 4 lakh for the season’s MVP is up for grabs by 22 esports athletes comprising 11 male and 11 female players. 117 matches will be played and EA Sports will determine the champion of the inaugural eISL. Along with that, qualification for the EA SPORTS TM FIFA22 GLOBAL SERIES will also take place with esports athletes across the country competing in 11 online qualifiers.
Each qualifier will determine the representatives for the 11 clubs – 1 qualifier per club and each club will have two representatives, one male and one female. An additional 12th all-female qualifiers will determine the selection of the female players in each club. The rest of the 11 qualifiers will be held in the order of the final ISL 2020-21 season standings. The tournament will have online qualifiers, regular season and grand finals. The clubs will play round-robin matches alongside the inaugural eISL season and a leader board will be put in place. The top 4 clubs will advance to the Grand Finals. The finalists will play in a double-elimination format to determine the winner. Keeping the safety measures in place, a bio-secure bubble will be set up for players in Gurugram, Haryana during the course of the eISL season.
Martin Bain, Chief Executive Officer at FSDL said “Fan engagement is one of the key factors to building a sport and expanding its footprint. The growing online gaming landscape in India provides a great opportunity to engage with the next generation of fans in the country. The esports experience is vital to the future of football and we continue to evolve towards its growth. eISL is an exciting platform and we are confident that it will lead the evolution of fan engagement and contribute significantly to boost the sport’s popularity in the country.”
“NODWIN Gaming along with Indian Super League and EA SPORTS TM aims to select the best FIFA players through EA SPORTS TM FIFA Global Series India Qualifiers. The strong equity of ISL in India, coupled with the vibrancy of FIFA 22 is sure to spark the intrigue of viewers and players alike. This is sure to bring joy to the millions of esports fans in India”, said Mr. Akshat Rathee, MD & Co-Founder, NODWIN Gaming.
As part of its global expansion, EA SPORTS TM FIFA Global Series has reached the subcontinent, bringing with its presence a massive participation and viewership. Qualifications are set to take place from 1-3rd November 2021 and Grand Finals on 19 & 20 March 2022. Registrations for the qualifiers will be held on ESL Play and from the events section on PlayStation. Players will have to create an ESL Play ID to register for the tournament on the ESL Play platform. The minimum age to enter the competition is 16.
Also read: Tiger Shroff roots for Indian gamers at World Esports Cup 2021
