ESL India Premiership: Fnatic to visit India in September 

According to sources, the attendees will be from the organisation's esports division.

Nodwin Gaming's ongoing ESL India Premiership Fall season will see a star studded addition as international heavyweights Fnatic are all set to visit the country, during the playoffs in September. CEO Akshat Rathee confirmed this development that members of the iconic organisation will take part in several promotional activities in Delhi. This is not the first time international e-sports superstars will be attending a major tournament in the country. Members of the Ukranian outfit Natus Vincere such as Edward also attended a Nodwin organised tournament in early 2015.

Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, he said, "Members of Fnatic will be attending our Fall season play offs in September. I won't give out any more details, but the people who can't physically come and meet them can watch them during our playoffs, which will be shown on DSport. This is one of many things that we have planned till early 2018."

It is still unclear who will be attending from the organisation, however, sources suggest, it will be a member of one of their esports squads.

For the first time in India, a structured e-sports league has transitioned from existing as an online property to bringing competitive gaming on a television set near you. Akshat added, "Television is the next big step, the monetization process online is far less lucrative than the one on TV. Not just that you tend to reach out to a larger base of people, who might not be introduced to it online. For example, if I have to watch a Counter Strike match online, one might end up spending 20 GB of data, so it's highly likely the viewer might choose not to watch it. There are several roadblocks that can be skipped with TV, the opportunities are endless and with DSport we have found a partner that will help us bring consistent coverage across the year."

DSport began ESL India Premiership coverage on July 9 and plans to run it for nine months in the year. Apart from showcasing their Counter Strike tournament, the channel also broadcasted Dota 2, The International. This particular tournament has the largest prize money for any e-sports event in the world with a prize pool of over $20 million. However, as Akshat reiterates, the final goal is to create a professional ecosystem for gamers.

He added, "Look back 20 years, people only watched Test Cricket, and when the Indian Premier League (IPL) came in it swooped everyone away. The best players were from the likes of Ranchi like Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Right now in Indian e-sports, there is a 10 city domination you can call it. The semi-urban areas are yet to produce as many professional gamers. However, if you see our past few seasons, you can see some top players coming through. We have a guy called Mrinmoy, who is India's best Clash Royale player. He is currently ranked world number three and you won't believe where he is from, he's from Arunachal Pradesh. The overall target to get e-sports is on TV is to make the sport accessible to everyone, regardless of geographical proximity."

The ongoing ESL India Premiership Fall season finals will be held in Hyderabad in late October.