When one thinks of sports, cricket or football is what comes to the mind, but if someone says video games, it will definitely attract some intense eye rolling. Like it or not, eSports is here to stay. Previously a small niche, its popularity has grown over recent years (read since 2011) and it is fast becoming a modern form of entertainment. It is currently valued at an astounding $892 million market globally. However, in India, it is a different story. Blame it on the culture, the mindset or even your neighbour Sharmaji ka beta, the competitive video game scene in India remained stagnant for a very long time. But, just like that kid who arrives late for the party, India finally arrived and arrived it did with a bang! Like they always say, Better Late than Never and so it was, 2016 indeed proved to be a game-changing year for Indian eSports.

So, before 2016 becomes a distant memory, let us take a minute to look back at the year that shaped Indian eSports for the better.

Steady Metamorphosis

Just like those Butterfly life cycle diagrams in your 5th-grade science textbooks, from a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly. The Indian eSports experienced a similar transition, a transition which stretched the entire course of 2016 from its cocoon years of 2011. It is not that video game tournaments are new to India, but the fact that these events were constrained to only one locale which made it bothersome. However, 2016 witnessed a stark change to this reigning mentality, which also makes it quite eventful.

Kicking off this domino effect was the announcement of ESL partnering up with NODWIN Gaming, both companies who are pioneers in the field of eSports, one in the global scenario the other hard-core Indian. Out of this partnership emerged the ESL India Premiership, an event which made that distant dream, held by numerous Indian gamers come true, finally. This pan-India event was scheduled to occur over 9 months and held a gargantuan prize pool of INR 42 Lacs. To ensure that only the best of the best reach the finale, the 2016 Masters at Delhi, the tournament was spliced into several tiers, whose qualifier finale were held in different cities. Thus it comes as no surprise when over 10,000 Indian gamers chose to participate in this event which featured games such as DOTA 2, CS:GO and Clash Royale. However it was not only Indian teams participating in this mega event, International teams such as UAE’s Risky Gaming and Bangladesh’s The Council were prominent visitors.

However, the 2016 Indian eSports journey does not end with ESL India Premiership only. Several other events are equally responsible for creating this revolution. Every new tournament learnt from its predecessor and helped create this beautiful year.

The National DOTA 2 Championship is one shining example. Promoted by a handful of DOTA 2 enthusiasts this online event took the country by storm, despite its meagre prize-pool. Mag Gaming’s event, Havoked added fuel to the flame, thereby igniting the seriousness Indian eSports deserves. SuperNOVA hosted by NOVAPlay displayed the possibility of long-running events. The Taiwan Excellence, sponsored and supported by the Taiwanese government paved the way for multi-city tournaments. Indian eSports Championships proved that India has the capability as well as the guts to pull a huge event as a standalone.

The year also witnessed an event which dabbled with the tournament format. The Mountain Dew Arena organised by PepsiCo was a Kerouac-esque kind of event. Styled as a roadshow, this event travelled over 9 weeks across 50 cities in North India. The event brought the venue to the contestant instead of the other way round.

Desi Mundey Go Global (Not Canada)

It was not only foreign brands who entered the Indian scene this year, instead, an exchange of sorts took place. The number of teams participating in International events increased manifold.

After stamping their dominance in Indian DOTA 2, Team Entity eSports moved out of its comfort zone and dabbled in a few International events, such as the ROG Masters in Malaysia, The Pro DOTA 2 Cup and the Boston Majors Regional Open Qualifiers. On this videshi sojourn, they played against some top-tiered international teams such as Fnatic, Execration and Team Faceless.

At the Electronic Sport World Cup (ESWC), which is often likened to the Olympic Games also witnessed a staunch presence from India. Dhruvin Kalawadyarepresented India in the Clash Royale category while Anbarasu Sujay made sure that the Indian e-football received a boost through his representation in the FIFA category. In the coveted CS:GO category, India was represented by ace shooters, Team Overcome.

But all was not rosy for most visiting Indian teams, we had to face our own share of flusters. The CS:GO squad of Entity eSports had to cut short their campaign to the ROG Masters after they face last minute passport issues. But at the end of the day, even though the International events were not rewarding materialistically for the visiting Indian teams, it alerted the world about India’s arrival at the International eSports scene.

Professional Ethics 101

2016 will not be remembered for the increase in the events, but also for the professional that turn Indian eSports undertook. Many teams and players now follow the contract system. Gone are those days when players switched teams on the go. The contract system enforced team stability as well as fidelity, which in turn improves their consistency and when you zoom out to the larger picture, it is beneficial to the game and its community on the whole. This system also legitimises eSports as a possible career option, since it reduces the risk factor.

The Cast System

What is cricket without Harsha Bhogle? Well, every game requires its mouthpiece and Indian eSports have found its own unique set of commentators or casters as they are known. For DOTA 2 we have Cloudx, Veewake and Gambit, while in CS:GO there’s Bleh. However, it was not an easy ride for these chaps. Legend says that it is hard to become a professional player but what it does not tell you is that to become a successful caster, it takes twice the effort. This unique band of crusaders have refined their skill through countless hours of game playing, watching and of course speaking. They live, eat and breathe the game.

Brother from Another Mother

Well, any eSports event is incomplete without Cosplay. And almost every LAN event in India made it a point to conduct a Cosplay Contest along with the games. Just as siblings eSports and Cosplay ensured that the events looked their best and also allowed die-hard fans to display their form of love towards their favourite games and characters.

Organisers of events also made sure that the cosplay participants were proportionally compensated for their months of toil building intricate outfits. For instance, the top cosplayers from ESL India Premiership get to attend to ESL One Genting in Malaysia next year.

Memorial

What makes a year most memorable is the loss we suffer during its course. 2016 was no different for Indian eSports as quite a few mentionable events took place. First off the bat, in DOTA 2, Raunak ‘Crowley’ Sen usurped from his place in Entity Esports. He is now a free agent. Zedisbugg announced his retirement from professional DOTA 2 after his team won the 2016 Masters organised by ESL India Premiership.

In CS:GO Prashant ‘Aequitas’ Prabhakar, will be missed as he has resigned from active casting duty to focus on his endeavours at SoStronk. He is survived by Bleh.

Years come and go by, but 2016 will be forever engraved in the history books of Indian eSports as the year the Big Bang occurred.