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The League of Extraordinary Gamers (LXG) has slowly but surely made a name for themselves in the arena of Esports and gaming, organizing several Local Area Network (LAN) tournaments in a short span of time and pretty much revolutionizing the gaming scene in India. One of its biggest ventures was launched last year with Indian LAN Gaming (ILG) Season one, pitting enthusiastic gamers against each other across the country in a tournament that lasted nine months in total.
Now, ILG is back with its second season, and it's better than ever. This year there is a substantial increase in the number of expected gamers along with 170+ gaming events across the country emanating from 27 selectively chosen gaming cafes and 3 Universities from 16 Indian cities.
Kiran Noojibail, Director, Esports and Broadcasting at LXG spoke exclusively to Sportskeeda about the upcoming season and the uniqueness of ILG. "Everyone is playing online these days. But we wanted to focus more on LAN competitions where gamers can play in gaming cafes instead of sitting at home as is generally the case", he said.
The format of ILG is in many ways a throwback to the old days of gaming in cyber cafes with friends playing games such as Counter Strike and by bringing back this form of gaming, LXG has given an identity to several previously unknown gaming centers and cafes.
"We want to see India progress in the field of Esports and gaming. These are, of course, baby steps. We have several competitors doing similar work as us, but our aim isn't to compete, it is to promote gaming in the country. By the year 2022, we will see a huge demand for gaming in India", he remarked.
This year there is a special reward for gaming enthusiasts with the grand prize bumped up to ₹1 Crore ($153,322) with 8 major gaming titles included. The three main games to be contested this year include FIFA 18, CS: GO and DOTA 2 with another three included as showcase games and a further two added as community games.
Among the games to be contested this year for the first time is Rocket League, which has become a popular alternative and has garnered high demand. Community games this season would include Rainbow Six: Siege which has also taken off in a big way. Another community game this season will be the much-revered battle royale shooter game called Player Unknown's Battleground (PUBG). Showcase games will have multiplayer shooter Overwatch among its ranks, giving gamers a variety of options to choose from.
This season's tournament will stretch along a period of 7 months starting in April 2018 and culminating in the Grand Finale towards the end of this year. These gaming battles will take place weekly and are available for viewing on major social media platforms. There will also be merchandise up for grabs for gamers and viewers in attendance for the 90 mini tournaments that the event will organize.
"Last year, the tournament stretched till October and we had around 2,700 gamers participating for a substantial prize pool. This year we expect that number to grow a lot more owing to the 650% increase in the prize pool", Kiran explained.
There is no doubt that gaming in India is taking off in a big way, and ILG Season two could be one of the major contributors to this Esports revolution.
Do not miss out on the action and choose to play the game of your choice by registering here: ILG - Season 2
