Esports in India has been witnessing steady growth with prize pools, viewership, and participation consistently trending upward.
International tournament organizers such as ESL and DreamHack have recently shown interest in organizing world-class events in the country.
However, a few local organizers have also taken small strides towards the global tournament circuit.
Having accumulated enough experience and knowledge over years of indigenous tournaments, a few companies have finally begun to sail beyond local borders to deploy their skillset and engage with a host of international teams, talent, and players.
One such company is Chennai-based Playtonia. Started in 2016, the company has created intellectual properties [IPs] such as Conquerors Insignia and the International Student Rockstar League.
“We have been doing a lot of tournaments in India and there are a lot of other opportunities out there in other countries,” says Prasanna Kumar T E K co-founder and CTO.
While Playtonia has opted to set up its own IPs in the international arena, a popular Indian CS:GO platform company, SoStronk, has explored B2B relationships with existing global tournament organizers (TOs).
Back in 2016, SoStronk used to run its own tournament IPs, the most noteworthy of which was the King of the Hill series. This was done at a time when Asian CS:GO was still young and access to players and teams was easier.
Despite tournaments in India offering comparatively large prize pools, international teams are often reluctant to participate. This according to Prashant, is primarily due to two reasons – India’s checkered past in the esports space and the country’s lack of tourist appeal when pitted against popular Asian tournament destinations.
