Third edition of the Taiwan Excellence Gaming Cup sets the stage for thrilling clash of DOTA 2 titans

2015 Taiwan excellence cup
A snapshot of the teams from the 2015 event (Image credit: TEGamingCup India Twitter handle)

After two extremely successful editions in the last two years, Taiwan Excellence in India announced the third stint of their inimitable gaming tournament – the Taiwan Excellence Gaming Cup (TEGC). The worldwide championship that has stupendous fan-following across the world is back this year on a much larger stage thanks to the overwhelming response for its previous editions.

This year, four more cities have been added to its itinerary and the TEGC will now be hosting elimination rounds in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, in addition to Mumbai and Delhi. The tournament will challenge DOTA 2 gamers to battle for the revered cup and winners will take home a cumulative cash prize of Rs 5 lakh. The tournament is divided into two rounds for each city - Eliminations and a Grand Finale – with the former being conducted from select offline venues as per a pre-set schedule.

The Taiwan Excellence Gaming Cup is a venture by the Taiwan Excellence -- an initiative of Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA and executed by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA). It represents the innovative and technological image of Taiwan’s most competitive industries and is a symbol of reliability, innovation and tremendous value.

To participate in the contest, enthusiasts can register on http://www.tegamingcup.com/#Schedule. However, it should be noted that registering online does not mean a team slot is confirmed. Participants will have to be present with their teams at the venue between 10 am and 12 pm on the first and second day of the event to get a registered slot confirmed. Registrations will close on the second day of the event once the slots are full.

Speaking about the TEGC, Mr. Michael Lin, Director of the Taipei World Trade Centre Liaison Office in Mumbai said, “We have had an incredible response for the TEGC in the past two years. Gamers from across the country have converged on this one platform to display their skills and it has been an action-packed gaming carnival. This year, we are bringing out a bigger edition of the event. There is a lot more in store for enthusiastic gamers from significant cash prizes to a championship title to some other amazing goodies. I hope the teams are ready to battle it out with their dynamic strategies.”

In its last two editions, the TEGC outdid most other contests on the popularity meter and garnered tremendous brand association. This year too, it has attracted several new brands as sponsors including Acer, Adata, Asus, D-Link, Genius, Gigabyte, InWin, MSI, Optoma, Thermaltex, Transcend,and Zyxel.

There will be a hi-tech exhibit of some of the latest products from Taiwan Excellence, including gaming laptops and gaming peripherals during the Grand Finale. It’s the best chance to experience Taiwanese gaming technology.

The TEGC is one of the few gaming tournaments in the country that utilises these uber-cool brands to form a partnership and collaborate to bring something special for the players. With big names endorsing the Cup, passionate gamers indeed have a lot to look forward to.

Formats in the competition

The gala challenge will see games like DOTA 2 (Steam version), Competition method: 5 versus 5 (team play, 5 players per team); and Game Mode: Captains Mode (CM) being played.

This year, elimination rounds will be held first in Delhi between July 29th and 31st followed by Hyderabad between August 5th and 7th. Then Mumbai between August 12th and 14th, Bangalore between August 19th and 21st, Chennai between August 26th and 28th, and Kolkata between September 2nd and 4th.

After the eliminations, 12 teams will qualify from the six locations to play in the Grand Finale that will also be streamed live on Twitch TV. The Grand Finale will be held on September 16th and 17th in Mumbai and will be a two-day long ‘League of Excellence’ festival open to all interested audiences at a central venue. The event will be streamlined live on Twitch TV.

The prize money too is bigger this year with a total cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh to be won. All 12 teams qualifying for the finale will win guaranteed cash prizes.

The winning team will take home a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh. The team winning the second spot will get a cash prize of Rs. 80,000, while those winning the third and fourth spots will take home Rs. 40,000 each. The fifth and the sixth spot winners will take home Rs. 25,000 each. The seventh and eighth spot winners will take home Rs. 20,000 each and the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth spot winners will take home Rs. 12,500 each .