Gaming events are on the rise all over India. What was once nothing more than a talking point amongst gamer as an event is becoming a behemoth of a platform for all the gaming companies to advertise and showcase their masterpieces. The gaming market is ever growing and every country is getting to taste the culture of gaming; India is no exception. Here we take a look at some of the biggest gaming events in the country in recent times.
1. ESL
Founded way back in 2000, ESL introduced India’s first ever major event of Dota 2. The event itself is extremely well known with their website quoting their pride in having 19+ years in esports. The numbers you can find in their About us section is astounding!
Over 200 million fans globally who join around 8.5 million players competing in cumulatively more than a 100k tournaments. On top of it, the 2019 Mumbai edition of the event saw some of the finest cosplay entries we have ever seen on an Indian stage. The quality on display was of international level and very high class. As Sameer Bundela, one of the Judges of the Cosplay Contest @ ESL has to say, “This was one of the best conducted cosplay competition. We had both foreign and local judges with good experience and knowledge of cosplay. I’ve judged a few cosplay competitions before but I never had a chance to judge a competition of this scale. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Getting to hear stories about how each of these cosplayers over came different obstacles was amazing. Even though I was judging this competition, being a cosplayer myself, these stories gave me a lot of insights into the process of cosplaying.”
P.C: ESL India (Facebook Page)
2. DreamHack
This event was unique in its own way. Instead of booths scattered across the location like other events, Dreamhack had just a couple or so booths. The location was covered with PCs and cables. They even had specific spots for you to bring your machine and settle down for a fun time. This ensured that the crowd being attracted was not just of professional gamers. A lot of casual gamers attended it and some even brought their friends who weren’t into gaming that much, just to show them how it feels like to be in a LAN party. Reminds you of your college days huh?
DreamHack India (Facebook Page)
3. IGX – Indian Gaming Expo
There is no better way to define IGX than by the very people behind it. The official website of the event states: IGX is home to blockbuster games, cutting edge hardware experiences, thrilling competitive tournaments, the brightest Indian creative talent, and the country’s largest gaming cosplay celebration.
Running for more than 3 years now with visitors count nearing the 100,000 mark. The event boasts well more than a hundred different brands being associated with it. The added feature of arguably the biggest gaming cosplay event along with a brilliant opportunity of prospective students to meet representatives from universities and colleges made it a very sought after event. Both for gamers as well as aspiring students in the field of computer games.
4. Phoenix Gaming Expo – PGX
The Phoenix Gaming Expo was organized by Phoenix MarketCity (Chennai) along with Arknemesis – India’s biggest gaming house. Super Sugoii had the honor of being one of the partners for this event. With state of the art setup along with tournaments of PUBG, FIFA and Dota 2, this event turned out to be the biggest gaming event in the south Indian city of Chennai. The advantage of this event being hosted in a mall was that the visitors were not limited to young gaming crowd but included families, kids and some elder members as well. Sugoii ne!
PC: Phoenix MarketCity (Chennai) Facebook
5. Taiwan Excellence Gaming Cup – TEGC
Running for over 4 years now, this tournament last time around in 2018 saw some of the biggest games like Counter Strike, Dota 2 and PUBG. Partnering with some of the most prominent gaming brands like Acer, Asus, MSI, Cooler Masters etc; this event boasted a combined prize pool of a mind blowing 10,00,000 rupees PLUS a trip to Taiwan. Woah!
PC: Taiwan Excellence (Facebook)
Looking at the names and numbers discussed above, one point seems very clear. The gaming scenario in India is growing rapidly. The country with its younger population and their love for games is heading in the right direction. And boy are we excited!
