The Esports Federation of India (ESFI) recently announced the finalized dates for the 2023 edition of the National Esports Championships, which will also determine the players who will represent India in the 15th World Esports Championships. Notably, the event will take place in Iasi, Romania.
According to reports, the national qualifiers for online preliminary rounds are scheduled to run from March 14 to March 19, while the Grand Finals are scheduled to start on March 24. The NESC 2023 will use a dual-elimination style of matches, which will be broadcasted live on ESFI’s official Facebook and YouTube handles.
The tournament will be focusing on four different Esports games, including CS:GO, DOTA 2, Tekken, and eFootball, with top sports players competing against each other. The ESFI will also hold a qualifier round for the top female players in the national CS:GO competition.
The President of Esports Federation of India, Vinod Tiwari said, “This is set to be the biggest ever year for Indian Esports where the country will be competing for glory at the Asian Games, Olympic Esports Week, Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games, and the 15th World Esports Championships.”
The President further expressed, “ESFI is excited to not only witness the high pulsating action of the qualifiers but to also conduct these qualifiers for the country’s talented female athletes for the very first time and see them represent the country at the biggest Esports tournament on the globe.”
“The official recognition of Esports as a multi-sport event has brought about a paradigm shift that has kick-started the golden era of video-gaming in the country. We wish all the athletes competing in the qualifiers the very best and are confident that they will make the country proud at the WEC 2023,” he further added.
The Indian athletes will get to compete in the regional qualifying events following NESC 2023 conclusion, where they will face off against athletes from other Asia-Pacific nations.
The upcoming WE Championship 2023 boasts a prize pool of USD 500,000 by International Esports Federation (IESF), and is also reported to be the largest edition of the tournament to date. The IESF expects around 130 countries to participate in the tournament.