Bollywood action hero and heartthrob Tiger Shroff is the face of India’s first-ever franchise-based Esports league, ESports Premier League (ESPL).

While Esports has seen an exponential rise especially during the lockdown, this league is the first of its kind in the Indian Esports world where partnership with Bollywood is aimed to make it mainstream, an official statement from the organisers stated.

ESPL marks the entry of the India Today group in the world of Esports.

This power-packed collaboration aims to nurture an ecosystem that Esports in India has never seen before. The league will leverage Tiger’s popularity and strong influence on the dynamic millennials and Gen-Z. The league kicked off on June 16, 2021.

Sharing his excitement Tiger Shroff said in a statement, “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 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 millions of registrations that commenced Wednesday, the statement added.

 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.

While talking about the association, ESPL Director Vishwalok Nath said: “One of the major goals for ESPL has been to reach out to every millennial and gamers in the country and our purpose of having Tiger Shroff on board has been to create a much deeper connect and grow the gaming community. We hope this association will also bring us closer to our mission of taking Esports to the next level in India.”

The matches will be streamed on OTT giant Disney+ Hotstar alongside official YouTube and Facebook channels of India Today and Aaj Tak and its websites.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Season 1 will be held virtually over a period of two and a half months. It will also feature a prize-pool worth Rs. 25, 00,000 where the winner takes home a sum of Rs. 12,00,000, while second and third placed teams will take home Rs. 600,000 and Rs. 300,000, respectively.

To participate in the league, gaming enthusiasts and gamers can register themselves on www.indiatodaygaming.com/espl

In its inaugural edition, ESPL has teamed up with Garena’s most popular battle royale game Free Fire to start the tournament on June16. The tournament, which will be played over two and a half months, will see the top 88 teams from millions of registrations competing in the initial level.

ESPL will also invite the top eight professional Free Fire Esports teams to the fold. These 96 teams will compete for the final eight slots to progress into Level 3 and the grand finale, representing eight cities across the country including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and the states of Punjab, and Rajasthan.

The official press release also added that ESPL has partnered with Hong Kong-based smartphone giant Infinix Mobile as the title sponsor for its inaugural edition and the league will be streamed on multiple platforms, including OTT giant Disney+ Hotstar as well as the official YouTube and Facebook channels of India Today and Aaj Tak along with their websites.

Hyderabad First City To Unveil Franchise Team: ESPL announced Hyderabad as the first city to unveil its franchise-based league team in the inaugural edition. The team from The City of Pearls has been named Hyderabad Hydras.

Chequered Flag Sports, a consortium between Sirish Kumar, Prasad Mangipudi, and Aashwij Ravula, will be the owners of Hyderabad Hydras and the only team to be bought in Season 1.

“I’m incredibly happy to welcome CFS and Tiger Shroff on board. I believe these associations, at a relatively very early stage of ESPL, will bolster our mission to take Esports to greater heights and give it the deserved high-octane launch. We initially had plans to market all the franchise teams and get the franchises monetized from the second season onwards, but CFS who are also one of the first movers in the space aims to promote strong sporting culture at the grassroots and association in Andhra and Telangana with its thriving community of gamers with ESPL right from the inception.

“We believe having such committed stakeholders right at the beginning of the journey will help the league to strengthen the platform and bring forward a great Esports league, which is financially sustainable, as well as have the right people joining the movement,” ESPL Director Nath said.

While entering the growing Esports market in India, CFS plans to establish itself as one of the premier gaming and Esports groups to represent the country on the global stage.

 “This is our first property, and we plan to gradually expand in multiple Esports platforms across different games. Through Hyderabad Hydras and ESPL, we will spot potential talents and further nurture and prepare them for the international level like it is for other sports leagues,” said Aashwij Ravula, CEO Hyderabad Hydras.

Prasad Mangipudi, Director of Hyderabad Hydras, who is also the moving force behind the Premier Badminton League, said, “Esports is a huge emerging opportunity and with world’s largest youth population, Esports ecosystem is going to explode in the next decade. Like every other industry, Esports will also see a lot of corporates driving this growth and Chequered Flag Sports will play its role in professionalizing and as a first mover in the Esports industry.”