ESL One, a major esports tournament organised by Electronic Sports League will have a Mumbai leg for the first time ever. ESL One Mumbai will be held at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai this April 2019. ESL One being a major tournament attracts international teams and players from popular esports titles such as Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) and Battlefield 4. ESL One Mumbai 2019 will reportedly host 12 of the best Dota 2 teams from across the world as they compete for a share of the $300,000 (USD) prize-pool.
“We can’t wait to bring ESL One to a completely new location – especially since this will mark the first big Dota 2 tournament in India”, said Ulrich Schulze, Senior Vice President of Product at ESL. “We see great potential in the Indian esports market and are looking forward to further foster the growth of the local scene together with our partner NODWIN Gaming.”
“ESL One commands global reverence in the world of esports and for India to play host to this event is indeed a landmark for the country’s esports history,” said Akshat Rathee, Managing Director of NODWIN Gaming. “NODWIN Gaming has firsthand experience of the passion of the Indian Dota 2 community over multiple years and this is our gift to them – to come and meet the best Dota 2 gamers of the world at ESL One Mumbai 2019.”
“As the technology leader for esports and gaming and ESL's Global Technical Partner, Intel is looking forward to delivering a world-class gaming experience to Dota 2 fans in India and around the world, at the inaugural ESL One Mumbai 2019," said Prakash Mallya, Managing Director – Sales & Marketing Group at Intel India.
ESL One Mumbai 2019 will host seven directly invited teams and four teams that need to fight their way up through the online qualifiers, which are set to take place in the regions Europe, North America, Greater China and Southeast Asia. Additionally, a local qualifier will be held in India to find the last participating team among India’s best. Eight out of the twelve teams taking part in the group stages on April 16 – 18 will get the chance to play on the big stage in front of thousands of enthusiastic Dota 2 fans. Details regarding the local qualifiers will be out in the following days.
Tickets sales and perks
ESL One is a ticketed event and ticket sales will go live on 17th January 2019, 3PM. As of now, we see four tiers of tickets available for ESL One Mumbai 2019. The lowest tier starts at Rs.499 and offers access to the event on any one of the days and has no fixed seating arrangements but you do get access to the signing sessions. For attending the event on all three days, there's the next tier which sells for Rs.999.
There are premium passes at Rs.1,499 and 2,499 which offer access to the player walk-in area and have better seatings.