Airtel Partners With Nodwin Gaming, Launches 'Airtel India Esports Tour’

Esports has kicked off rather well in India and to make good use of this opportunity, telecom operator Airtel has partnered with popular esports brand Nodwin Gaming. It is estimated that by 2021, online gaming will push the boundaries and will be valued over $1 billion in India with over 620 million gamers. Both Airtel and Nodwin want to be a part of the push and have announced the Airtel India Esports Tour.

It is said to be the first and largest property of its kind in this segment and will come with a national ranking and awarding system for Indian esports players. These will be based on the player’s year-long performance across tournaments and will be used as a base to create a points table for all participants.

“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 esports. The teams and players will now look up to perform throughout the year rather than focusing on few big standalone tournaments in a year,” said Akshat Rathee, Founder and MD, Nodwin Gaming.

The Airtel India Esports Tour will initially cover all Nodwin tournaments across gaming titles of PUBG Mobile, CS:GO, Clash of Clans, FIFA, etc. Expect all popular Nodwin tournaments to be a part of the tour including India Premiership by Nodwin, Dreamhack India, The Northeast Cup, KO Fight Nights, PAN Fest and Nodwin operated tournaments in India. The tour will be broadcasted on Airtel’s digital platforms to expand the emerging format to newer audiences. Once the annual tour ends, a final leaderboard across games will be presented to recognize and reward the winners at an awards show.

Adarsh Nair, Chief Product Officer, Bharti Airtel said: “At Airtel, it has always been our aspiration to support a digital India. Gaming is the next frontier of entertainment and it gives us great pleasure to announce our partnership with Nodwin to unlock the potential of esports in India. esports is taking a higher share of where our youth spend their time and we look forward to a deep partnership with Nodwin to evolve this space and support the youth in India.”