COBX Gaming Launches An SEA Gaming Tournament Worth INR 1 Crore
The e-gaming market in India kicks off to prize pool tournaments worth INR 1 crore. COBX Gaming announces their first international tournament involving players from South East Asia to compete in a USD 160,000 prized e-gaming competition known as COBX Masters to be hosted in India in 2018. The mammoth prize pool is to be distributed over just 2 games, CS:GO and DOTA 2 keeping entries entirely free for the participants.
The tournament is divided into two phases where the first phase will cover 10 cities in India, viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Kohima. Online qualifiers from each city will be followed by a final stage which will be held in a café respectively. The final stage will include top 4 teams from the qualifiers, competing for the title in each of the cities.
Rajdip Gupta, Founder, COBX Gaming at the press conference said, “The primary objective of conducting the tournament is to attract the maximum number of professional teams in India. eSports is still in a nascent stage here and we want to help streamline it. We have designed the format carefully so as to address the long-standing viewership issue, ensuring the tournament reaches the maximum possible audience. We hope to demonstrate to this audience that gaming can be a lucrative career option, not just for young gamers but also for talented individuals who are a part of this industry. This industry is populated with shoutcasters, game analysts, developers, designers and other promising talents, which we aim on identifying through our endeavor. This is a big impact tournament that paves the way for the future of the industry in India.”
He also stated that the Asian circuit includes 900 million gamers along with 60 million plus audiences and the same potential can be seen in India. Corporates in the country have shown a lot of interest and are forming their own teams for tournaments across international and national gaming circuits. According to Rajdip this market is very similar to the format of the Indian Premier League, FA Cup and Superbowl. Teams that would be bought will also follow the rules and regulations of the tournaments and they are also aiming at encouraging gaming to be a legitimate career where players can earn a handsome salary of 1 lakh Rs monthly.
“The tournament will bring to India, a global eSports tournament experience for the first time. With a major part of our tournament experience for the first time. With a major part of our tournament being held in gaming cafes across 10 Indian cities, the regional eSports scene is sure to get a huge boost. There are plans to have mainstream TV channels to air the tournament, taking it to millions of viewers. Along with mainstream media, we plan on using various streaming platforms and with the strategic use of social media and our website it will be the most visible eSports tournament you’ve ever seen in India. It is India’s first major tournament crafted to help Indian players get great exposure to the international pro circuit. With the world’s eyes set on the tournament, we are affirmative that this will be a big moment for the industry in India and SEA.”
COBX claims that by the year 2020, the revenue from eSports is expected to cross a whopping USD 1.2 billion in South East Asia. The gaming company that have received a funding of 10 Million Dollars is formulating plans with the respective government bodies to promote the industry on a national level. Collectively there are 250 million active gamers in India has a viewership of 30 million plus which is fast increasing according to COBX. With a target audience of 25 years age group divided between men and women, the market is processing a huge base for advertisers.
