Riot Games has confirmed some exciting news for gamers in Asia, as the international Valorant eSports competition will be held in India for the very first time. The tournament which has been labeled ‘Convergence’ will take place between 14 – 17 December at the Manpho Convention Center in Bangalore and sees many well-known global teams set to compete.
The four-day event will see top teams traveling to the tech hub in Bangalore for the first to compete in the tournament for one of the world’s most popular competitive titles and will no doubt be viewed as another significant milestone for the American video game developer, following last month’s announcements for China and Spain in 2024.
What do we know about the Riot Games eSports tournament?
As reported in the Indian Express, the tournament is set to take place next month in India for the very first time and this follows last month’s news that the tournament is set to premiere in China in May of next year. This shows the dedication that Riot has to promoting the game on a global stage.
Riot’s eSports Lead for India and South Asia, Sukamal Pegu, had the following to say on this exciting announcement;
“With Convergence, Indian fans will finally get to see some of their favourite Valorant athletes perform in person and also interact with them off-stage. It will be a perfect ending to the 2023 VCT season and we are just getting started here in India for such international events.”
This sentiment was reiterated by the Founder and Managing Director of the eSports Club, Vamsi Krishna, who had the following to say about the upcoming tournament;
“This event will not only enhance the esports experiences in the country but also elevate India’s presence on the global gaming stage,”
Since the announcement, the level of excitement from fans has been unprecedented and this tournament will be the first of many which will feature in the country for Riot. With the popularity of competitive gaming worldwide and the increase of PC gamers in the country, we can only speculate as to how well-received it will be.
However, despite the positivity surrounding the confirmed event, it appears you cannot please everyone these days. A small minority of gamers in India have been questioning why the tournament was not held in Mumbai instead of Bangalore but despite this, the overall consensus is that of excitement, and many fans are eager to find out when tickets will be made available.
Whilst the Riot game may only have been launched in 2020, it has rapidly become one of the most competitive titles and sees a highly positive rating on the Epic Games Store. The free-to-play character-based 5v5 tactical shooter has previously been likened to Valve’s own Counter-Strike and it’s easy to see the similarity between the two titles, given that Riot’s title borrows heavily from many of the mechanics of the Valve game.
The upcoming event will see various global teams in attendance and there are certainly some well-known names amongst them. Global eSports, FUT, Furia, Vitality, and GenG who currently compete in Riot’s Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) throughout Asia, Europe, and the Americas will head to Bangalore for the first time, competing from 14 December for 4 days.
With this confirmation from Riot regarding the upcoming e-sports competition in Bangalore there is understandably extreme hype and with some of the top teams worldwide set to attend, this is an event that gamers in India will not want to miss out on. The tournament looks to be an exciting spectacle and no doubt it will see huge numbers looking to tune in both in person and online.
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