

eSports
7 state ministers unveil franchise teams for Esports Premier League 2021, the final leg of ESPL to kickstart on August 16
India’s first-ever franchise-based Esports league, the Esports Premier League (ESPL) has finalised the top eight teams as the ultimate face off in the inaugural edition of the nation-wide Esports league is set to begin on August 16. State ministers from seven regions launched their respective franchise team names, logos, and jerseys.
While the Esports industry has been in quest to gain legitimacy and recognition from the government, involvement and acceptance from the government at this level to the tournament is a giant stride for Esports industry in India.
“To have the best gamers from across the country representing final eight franchise teams as well as their team’s official jersey being unveiled by the state ministers is a matter of absolute honor and pride. Even in its inaugural edition, ESPL has received exceptional response from the Esports community, the players and the audience,” said Mr. Vishwalok Nath, Director, ESPL.
Here is the complete list of Ministers and personalities that unveiled teams representing their respective states:
- Mr. V. Srinivas Goud
Hon’ble Minister of Sports & Youth Services
Govt. Of Telangana
- Mr. Sunil Chhatrapal Kedar
Hon’ble Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare
Govt. of Maharashtra
- Mr. Manish Sisodia
Deputy Chief Minister
Govt. of Delhi
- Mr. Manoj Tiwary
Hon’ble Minister of Department of Youth Services and Sports
Govt. Of West Bengal
- Mr. K.C. Narayana Gowda
Hon’ble Minister of Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports Department of Planning
Govt. of Karnataka
- Mr. Ashok Chandna
Hon’ble Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs (Independent charge)
Govt. of Rajasthan
- Mr. Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi
Hon’ble Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs
Govt. of Punjab
- RJ Balaji
Radio jockey, director, sports broadcaster, and writer based out of Chennai
The final eight franchises teams and the players were chosen through a draft process. And the teams that are qualified through various stages of the competition for the draft process include BADGE99, Total Gaming, 4 UNKNOWN, TSM FTX, No Chance, AFF Esports, Head Hunters, and TWO SIDE GAMERS. Each of these teams were picked to represent a city team and in the final stage during the draft, popular influencers and Esports gamers were roped in to conduct the process.
The eight franchise teams are Punjab Paladins, Chennai Celestials, Delhi Dukes, Hyderabad Hydras, Kolkata Kaijus, Rajasthan Reapers, Mumbai Marshals, and Bangalore Ballistics. Below is the complete list of players of all these teams who will represent the respective state teams:
BADGEE99 will represent Kolkata Kaijus
Ø Hriteek Ranjan Ø Muhammed Faizal. N Ø Prahast Garg Ø Azmal Akhtar Choudhury Ø Yogesh Buchale
|
Total Gaming will represent Hyderabad Hydras
Ø Ajay Sharma Ø Vora Hetkumar Ø Daksh Garg Ø Narai Yadav Ø Anshul Rawat |
4 UNKNOWN will represent Rajasthan Reapers
Ø Swastik Madhukar Dushing Ø Anand Madhukar Dushing Ø Radhe Thakor Ø Vadehr Anil Devashibhai Ø Mohd Zuber
|
AFF Esports will represent Delhi Dukes
Ø Owais Bhati Ø Kanishk Verma Ø Rahil Katoch Ø Pavan Adwani Ø Arpit Tyagi
|
TWO SIDE GAMERS will represent Bengaluru Ballistics
Ø Ritik Jain Ø Ojasvi Kamra Ø Vihan Datta Ø Bhavesh Lakhwani |
No Chance will represent Chennai Celestials
Ø Priyansh Ø Devesh Chauhan Ø Aritra Adak Ø Priyanshu Kumar Ø Soumya Sundar
|
TSM FTX will represent Mumbai Marshals
Ø Sagar Patel Ø Indranil Saha Ø Jayesh Yadav Ø Naitik Khosto Ø Asjad Khateeb
|
Head Hunters will represent Punjab Paladins
Ø Satyam Thakur Ø Md. Abdul Moghni Ø Aasim Usama Ø Jatin Taneja Ø Priyanshu Halder Saha |
ESPL 2021, which began on June 16, will see the athletes competing in the popular battle royale game Free Fire as the winners will have INR 25 lacs prize money to win.
This final phase has lot more in store and a spectacle series of matches and exciting live-action will be streamed on Disney+ Hotstar, Free Fire official streaming platform Booyah and Malayalam OTT platform Koode alongside official YouTube and Facebook channels of India Today and Aaj Tak and its websites.
Artyom Odintsov
Esports Charts Wins “Esports Innovation Award” at the EsportsNext Industry Awards

Esports Charts, a Ukraine-born analytics company that aggregates real-time viewership insights about esports, has won the Esports Innovation Award at the EsportsNext Industry Awards, hosted by the Esports Trade Association (ESTA) in Dallas, US.
The Esports Innovation Award recognizes an organization or individual that has introduced groundbreaking technology, services, or strategies significantly advancing the esports industry.
Esports Charts was honored for its scalable analytics platform, which provides comprehensive tournament and viewership statistics across more than 25 livestreaming services — helping stakeholders from publishers and teams to fans make smarter, data-driven decisions.
“Winning the Innovation Award from ESTA is an important milestone for us as a leading esports analytics service in the world. Also, we’re especially proud to represent Ukraine-born innovation on an international stage.
“From day one, our mission has been to bring clarity and transparency to the world of esports data. And this recognition from the industry is both an honor and a motivation to keep raising the bar.
“Thank you to our incredible team and partners, who believed in us from the start. This award is a shared success — and we’re just getting started,” Artyom Odintsov, co-founder and CEO of Esports Charts.
The post Esports Charts Wins “Esports Innovation Award” at the EsportsNext Industry Awards appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
eSports
TEAM VITALITY WINS INTEL EXTREME MASTERS DALLAS 2025

Today, leading esports club Team Vitality was crowned champions at the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Dallas 2025, held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Centre. Most Valuable Player (MVP) Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut guided the team to an imperious victory in Texas, delivering standout performances throughout the tournament, particularly in the Grand Final against MOUZ. With this victory, Team Vitality is crowned the champions of IEM Dallas 2025, bouncing back from a narrow 2-1 defeat in the 2024 tournament, where they finished as runners-up.
ANOTHER TROPHY LIFTED IN TEAM VITALITY’S LEGENDARY RUN
The powerhouse lineup of Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire, Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut, Shahar ‘flameZ’ Shushan, William ‘mezii’ Merriman, and Robin ‘ropz’ Kool all shone on the server, defeating several top-tier clubs, with “ZywOo” being named as the tournament’s MVP.
Kicking off their run in Group A, Team Vitality’s first match saw an impressive 2-0 win over South American side Legacy, showcasing their strength on both Inferno and Dust 2. The Upper Bracket Semifinals presented a closer challenge against GamerLegion, yet Team Vitality held firm and secured another 2-0 victory.
In the Upper Bracket Final, the French powerhouse faced Mongolian org, The MongolZ. The series began with a 13-10 Team Vitality victory on Inferno, but the MongolZ answered back with a 13-7 win on Nuke. However, the Bees levelled the series back on Mirage, where flameZ delivered a standout performance, leading them to a 13-11 victory. This victory continued Team Vitality’s 28-game win streak and secured their spot in the Playoffs Semi-finals.
The Semi-Final saw a rematch of the IEM Melbourne 2025 Grand Final, as the Bees faced off against Team Falcons. Dust II went the way of Team Vitality, with a commanding 13-7 win. However, the opposition roared back to take Train 13-6, setting up a grandstand final round on Inferno. Here, Team Vitality rallied together and managed to see off their rivals in close fashion, winning 13-11 to set up the Grand Final against MOUZ.
Team Vitality kicked off the Grand Final with a stunning comeback victory on Dust II, winning 13-11 from being 8-11 down. The Bees continued their early form into Mirage, asserting their dominance early to take a 13-9 win. The French club finished the 3-0 sweep on Inferno, taking a 13-8 win to secure the victory.
TEAM VITALITY EXTENDS THEIR REIGN IN COMPETITIVE CS2
The 2025 IEM Dallas title marks the club’s sixth Counter-Strike tournament win of the year. By defeating MOUZ at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Centre, Team Vitality extends their historic streak – a triumph made even more meaningful by taking place in Dallas, a city deeply rooted in Counter-Strike’s competitive legacy.
Fabien Devide, President of Team Vitality, said: “I’m extremely proud of our CS team for securing yet another major title with this IEM Dallas victory. Team Vitality continues to showcase the strength and excellence of French esports organisations on the global stage, and we have no intention of slowing down anytime soon.”
With the IEM Dallas title under their belt, Team Vitality have established their status as the team to beat for the remainder of the 2025 competitive calendar. Their unstoppable run will continue at the BLAST Austin Major next month, followed by IEM Cologne in July, where the team will look to continue winning trophies. By winning IEM Dallas, Team Vitality has already taken the first step in securing back-to-back ESL Grand Slams, a feat never before achieved by any other esports club.
The post TEAM VITALITY WINS INTEL EXTREME MASTERS DALLAS 2025 appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Asia
Banijay Asia and NODWIN Gaming form Strategic Partnership to Amplify Youth Engagement in India

Banijay Asia, a part of Banijay Entertainment, and NODWIN Gaming, a material subsidiary of Nazara Technologies, today announced a strategic partnership to revolutionize esports, gaming and youth entertainment in India. This collaboration marks a significant step in blending cutting-edge content with the booming gaming and youth culture ecosystem. As part of this alliance, Banijay Asia will take the helm in producing Playground, NODWIN Gaming’s flagship gaming reality show that has redefined the intersection of gaming, entertainment, and influencer culture in the region. The partnership will also bring new scripted and captive reality shows to daylight, with both companies co-developing new intellectual properties (IPs) and pioneering fresh content concepts across gaming, esports and youth culture.
Deepak Dhar, Founder & Group CEO – Banijay Asia & Endemol Shine India, commented, “This collaboration with NODWIN Gaming is an exciting extension of our vision to create content that resonates with evolving youth audiences. Gaming is not just a sport; it’s a culture, a lifestyle, and a massive content opportunity. With Playground and our upcoming IPs, we aim to redefine engagement and storytelling in this space.” He further added, “I look forward to the creative collaboration with Akshat Rathee, and Joost Roset who we previously worked with, in bringing iconic global IPs to India. This is an invaluable opportunity to create clutter-breaking formats in the youth and gaming space.”
With a diverse portfolio of high-impact IPs including the televised esports tournament – BGMI Masters Series (BGMS), Comic Con India, NH7 Weekender, and more, NODWIN Gaming is a key player in the gaming, esports and youth entertainment ecosystem.
Talking about the partnership, Akshat Rathee, Co-Founder & MD, NODWIN Gaming, said, “Youth entertainment is evolving rapidly, and our partnership with Banijay Asia positions us perfectly to lead that change. With Playground, we’ve just begun to explore what’s possible. Backed by Banijay’s global expertise, we’re now set to scale the IP across multiple languages and markets, with the ambition of building an international format. At the heart of our approach is our philosophy of ‘timeshare of mindshare’. We’re not just creating content, we’re creating cultural moments. The Rusk creative team will stay actively involved as we expand the universe of Playground, aiming to grow from one show to between five and ten each year. This is just the beginning of a bold new chapter in gaming and youth content.”
With gaming emerging as one of the most influential youth-driven industries, this partnership is poised to set new benchmarks in how gaming and entertainment are consumed in India. By leveraging Banijay Asia’s expertise in content creation and NODWIN Gaming’s deep-rooted understanding of gaming communities, the collaboration promises to push creative boundaries and capture the imagination of young audiences nationwide.
Banijay Entertainment has strong expertise in the gaming space, via its global distribution arm Banijay Rights, with successful gaming activations leveraging key brands including Peaky Blinders, Black Mirror, Simon’s Cat and MasterChef.
The post Banijay Asia and NODWIN Gaming form Strategic Partnership to Amplify Youth Engagement in India appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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