(Esports news) Team Revenge Esports emerged winners, while True Rippers and Entity bagged the second and third spots respectively in the first round of Invitational Qualifiers of the second edition of ESports Premier League to book their spots in the ESPL LAN Finals. The teams finished in the top 5 of the Invitational 1 table after two weeks of intense battle with the country's top BGMI esports teams. Besides, Team Reckoning and Walkouts comfortably secured fourth and fifth positions respectively to seal their berths in the ESPL LAN Finals.
The top 16 of India's highly talented teams competed in the first invitational round from July 9 to 17, playing a total of 20 matches each. The round witnessed multiple nail-biting and exciting matches between these top teams. Revenge Esports, winners of PUBG Mobile India Tour (PMIT) 2019, finished at the top of the table with a total of 230 points (Finish Points – 99 + Position Points – 131) and 4 Winner Winner Chicken Dinners (WWCD). The team's star assaulter Akshay was the top performer on the final day with 44 finishes as well as the top fragger overall in the first invitational round.
True Rippers, who finished third in the MediaTek BGMI Gaming Masters last year, bagged second place with 216 points (Finish Points – 95 + Position Points – 121). Entity finished third with 200 points (Finish Points – 97 + Position Points – 103). The Mumbai-based esports team had previously won the Mafia Cup in 2019 and the PUBG Mobile Club Open – Fall Split: South Asia.
Reckoning Esports, who parted ways with their previously successful BGMI roster earlier this year, contested with their new lineup and were in first place after an outstanding performance in Week 1. However, they failed to sustain their performance in Week 2 and fell down to 10th place to finish fourth overall with 182 points (Finish Points – 83 + Position Points – 99). Team Walkouts were the final team to make it to the LAN Finals after accumulating 169 points (Finish Points – 67 + Position Points – 102). They were level on points with Gravity Esports but finished above as they had three WWCDs compared to Gravity's two.
"After the Open Qualifiers, we were happy to see the top teams fight so fiercely in the first round of Invitational Qualifiers. These teams raised the level of competition as most of them have been successful in the past in various other tournaments. This attracts a lot of viewers eager to see their favourite teams and players in action. I wish all of these 5 teams the very best and will be looking forward to seeing them play against the other qualified teams in the LAN Finals." said Vishwalok Nath, director of ESPL after the Invitational 1 results.
The league is being played in two separate stages in the initial phase — online qualifiers and invitational qualifiers — to shortlist the top 16 teams. The Online Qualifiers saw two underdog teams; GOG Esports and Dragon Esports make it to the LAN finals in what was their first major tournament appearance. The second phase of invitational qualifiers is underway since July 18 and will end on July 27. The final eight teams will progress to the Finals from this round of invitational qualifiers.
Recently, ESports Premier League (ESPL) extended its association with youth icon and renowned Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff as the face of India’s first-ever franchise-based Esports league for the second consecutive year. India Today Gaming has also roped in global smartphone brand, TECNO Mobile as Presenting Sponsor for the tournament.
Also read: GOG Esports and Dragon Esports seal a spot for ESPL 2 LAN Finals
