ESPL, India’s first professional league for Esports, has announced Hindi film actor Tiger Shroff as the brand ambassador of the professional franchisee based competition.
The announcement coincides with the opening day of the league – June 16.
The collaboration aims to nurture an ecosystem that the Indian Esports industry has never seen before, stated a Press release.
Tiger will don the new hat as the brand ambassador of India’s first-ever franchise-based Esports league – Esports Premier League. ESPL is set to kick off today (Wednesday). Infinix smart phone is the presenting sponsor for the inaugural season of the league..
The league will leverage Tiger’s popularity and strong influence on the dynamic millennials and Gen-Z.
While Esports has seen an exponential rise especially during the lockdown, this league is the first of its kind to partner with Bollywood to bring wider popularity and acceptance to Esports. This power-packed collaboration aims to nurture an ecosystem that the Indian Esports industry has never seen before.
Sharing his excitement Tiger Shroff said, “I am really excited to collaborate with Esports Premier League. This opens a tremendous opportunity to recognize the growing talent in Esports in India. As the world’s first franchise-based model in Esports, ESPL will surely help in putting India first on the global map. Esports fans and gamers are shaping the future of entertainment and sports. And I’m glad to represent this force of the future.”
With the majority of the 1.4 billion Indian population being youth, the Bollywood sensation also known for his passion for sports and Mixed Martial Arts will connect Esports to the mainstream as the inaugural edition of the league promises to bring the excitement of Esports through its nationwide tournament with lakhs of registrations that will commence from Wednesday. The preliminary rounds will engage in a highly competitive contest as eight teams will be chosen in the third round who will go on to contest in the grand finale.
“One of the major goals for ESPL has been to reach out to every millennial and gamer in the country and our purpose of having Tiger Shroff onboard has been to create a much deeper connect and grow the gaming community. We hope this association will also further our initiative to intensify the mission of taking Esports to the next level in India,” added ESPL Director Vishwalok Nath.
As part of the franchise-based league, the Hyderabad team has been bought by Chequered Flag Sports—a consortium between Sirish Kumar, Prasad Mangipudi, and Aashwij Ravula. The team has been named Hyderabad Hydras.
The other teams will represent cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, as well as Punjab and Rajasthan will have the State representation. India Today Gaming has teamed up with Garena to create this exclusive gaming platform featuring their most popular Battle Royale game, Free Fire, in India.
The matches will be streamed on OTT giant Disney+ Hotstar alongside official YouTube and Facebook channels of India Today, Aaj Tak and the group websites.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Season 1 will be held virtually over two and a half months. It will also feature a prize pool of ₹ 25 lakh. The winner will take home ₹ 12 lakh, the second and third-placed teams will be richer by ₹ 6 lakh and ₹3 lakh respectively.
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