Esports Federation of India (ESFI) in Delhi has opened registrations for the 2021 edition of the National Esports Championships (NESC), scheduled to take place from August 6-22.The roster of games include DOTA2, Tekken7, PES 2020 alongside the main event, CS: GO. The championship will be played in a double elimination format with the last date of registrations being August 19 for PES2020 and Tekken7, August 5 for DOTA2, with registration dates for CS:GO to be announced soon.
Just like last year, the nationals will be held virtually. “For the Indian esports industry, this is our time in the sun. The increasing interest for esports is encouraging us to push the envelope and give the athletes and the audience something exciting each time.” said Lokesh Suji, Director of Esports Federation of India (EFI) and Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF), adding, “While esports will now be a medal event at the 2022 Asian Games and other Asian Championship events, and expected to be included in Olympics in the near future, we are committed to develop and support the esports ecosystem in India.”
Boban Totovski, Secretary General, International Esports Federation, points out: “With esports tournaments becoming bigger and grander, a number of Indian youth want to take up esports professionally. We have got some of the world’s most recognised games in the tournament being mastered by highly skilled and motivated virtual fighters.”Winners of the NESC 2021 will represent India at the 13th Esports World Championship by the International Esports Federation (IESF). These athletes will progress through online Regional Qualifiers (scheduled in September-October) to the Global Finals in Eilat, Israel (November 14-19).
Current India’s No 1 Tekken 7 player, Abhinav Tejan, says, “Last year, I qualified to play regional qualifiers in South Asia, and after winning it I got the chance to represent India in the IESF World Championship finals, scheduled to be held in Israel but got cancelled due to Covid. I prepared a lot for last year’s World Championship and will do the same in this year’s qualifiers as well, but this time it will be a tough competition because new players have joined the Tekken scene. I have played a lot of online tournaments, am pretty much well-trained and ready to give my best shot.”
For last year’s Regional qualifier champion (PES), Moinuddin Amdani, the focus is to secure a spot in the Regional qualifiers, and then the World Championship. “It’s a great feeling to represent your country on the global stage. I am training hard and playing a lot of online matches as part of my preparations. This year, it can be anybody’s game as virtually the pressure will be on everyone. Whoever can manage mental pressure will be on the winning side.”