ESFI Introduce Their First-Ever National Ranking System For Esports
In an attempt to streamline esports gaming within the subcontinent, as well as to give a clearer indication of who the strongest performers are within the Indian esports industry, the Esports Federation of India (ESFI) has released their first ever national rankings.
The data is based on the open ranking tournaments that have been played over the past couple of months by a number of teams and players across Call of Duty Mobile (Battle Royale), FreeFire, and Valorant.
Team Resilience, Checkmate, and Adbhut Esports have been amongst the teams that have topped the different categories in the rankings. A total of 60 matches of Call of Duty Mobile, 65 for FreeFire, and 26 Valorant matches were used as data for the formulation of the rankings. All the matches were played through November and December 2020.
“Determine the Best Players in the Country”
Speaking about the new rankings system, the ESFI Director Lokesh Suji commented:
“With esports being included as a medal event at the 2022 Asian Games, among other major Championships, it is important that we follow all the necessary requirements like in any other medal sports to determine the best players of the country.”
“In the months of November and December, we organised several scrims and there has been huge responses to these events. While the gamers (athletes) showcased great technique and competitive[ness], each scrim was keenly contested before the champions were declared.”
“Creating a pool of credible national gamers is a key responsibility that ESFI intends to shoulder in order to initiate and streamline a professional approach towards playing and organizing tournaments that are played in India. The athletes will help to maintain a certain standard of play, it will also regulate the esports ecosystem.”
The plan is to expand the ranking system still further in the country with plans for rankings scrimmages for games such as Dota 2, Pro Evolution Soccer, FIFA, Brawl Stars, CR, and COC all scheduled to take place within the next couple of months.
The ESFI has become a driving force for esports in India and this latest move will certainly enhance the global stature of its teams.
Key Market for Growth
The role the ESFI has played in developing the esports scene in India is a key one as it is a market that has long been identified as one that has potential for huge growth. Back in November 2020, we first looked at a number of esports companies keen to get a foothold into the Indian market.
This despite at the time the Indian Government was banning a number of Chinese apps, which included the popular mobile phone game PUBG.
India’s neighbour, Pakistan, has also been making moves into the esports market of late too, with news last week coming that the state will officially recognise esports by granting it the same status as ‘regular sports’.
Given the sizeable population in both countries and the potential for huge growth across India and Pakistan, it is little wonder that so many companies are seeking to invest in the region. The formulation of these ranked tables for esports will certainly help Indian esports players and teams gain more coverage globally which will only encourage further investment in the region.
Since: August 10, 2015
