MUMBAI: NODWIN Gaming, South Asia’s leading e-sports company, announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel to further grow e-sports in India. 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.

Airtel India ESPORTS TOUR will also have a national ranking and awarding system for Indian e-sports players based on their year-long performance across top tournaments, and this will be used as a base to create a points table for all participants, an official press statement states.

Airtel India ESPORTS TOUR will initially cover all NODWIN tournaments across gaming titles of PUBG Mobile, 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. This will also cover NODWIN operated tournaments such as the PUBG Mobile Pro league in India.

NODWIN Gaming founder and managing director Akshat Rathee says, “NODWIN Gaming believes that by binding the elements of independent tournaments into a single storyline we will give rise to a new culture in the competitive world of Indian e-sports. The teams and players will now look up to perform throughout the year rather than focusing on a few big standalone tournaments in a year.”

At the end of the annual tour, the final leader-board across games will be presented to recognise and reward the winners at an award show celebrating the key players in the ecosystem, the e-sports athletes, the teams, the talent, the best plays, etc. 

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.

Bharti Airtel chief product officer Adarsh Nair says: “We are thrilled to partner with NODWIN to unlock the potential of e-sports in India. Airtel is an enabler of digital lifestyles in emerging India and youth are at the core of our brand proposition. We look forward to a deep and long term collaboration with NODWIN as we embark on this exciting digital journey.”

Initially, the Airtel India ESPORTS TOUR will be seeded by NODWIN in its extensive tournament network and will aspire to be a platform where all tournaments will carry an agreed weightage independent of the organizer. The ecosystem will allow the flexibility of choice for players to play what they want and when they want.