Skyesports Announces Skyesports Masters CS:GO Event With INR 2 Crores Prize Pool

India-based esports tournament organizer Skyesports announced its new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) LAN event that boasts a massive INR 2 Crores ($244,000) prize pool. The event will feature eight franchised teams who will compete for a share of the prize pool. There is a renewed interest in CS:GO in the country following the announcement of Counter-Strike 2, and Skyesports wants to cater to the Indian esports community that has been involved with the Counter-Strike franchise for over two decades.

Skyesports Masters qualifiers will take place in 20 cities across India

The Skyesports Masters will kick off with the on-ground café qualifiers taking place in 20 cities across India. Skyesports has tied up with local gaming cafés in all major cities of the country to scout for the best Counter-Strike talent. The cities for the café qualifiers include Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and more.

If you want to stay updated on when the qualifiers take place in a city near you, you should keep an eye out on Skyesports’ social media handles via the links below:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skyesportsgaming/ 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skyesportindia/ 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/skyesportsindia 

Once the qualifiers conclude, the franchised teams will get to pick up the best-performing players and add them to their existing rosters which feature Indian and international Counter-Strike pros.

After rosters have been finalized, the eight teams will battle it out in Mumbai to become the ultimate masters. The three-month LAN event will be split into the league stage and the playoffs and will be open to a live audience. The exact venue and ticketing information will be announced at a later date.

Skyesports is investing heavily into Counter-Strike's future

Skyesports Founder and CEO Shiva Nandy said in an official press release, “With our franchised system, we have found eight fantastic partners to be a part of the inaugural season of the league. Our goal for the league is not to just create one of the grandest tournaments for audiences to enjoy but also to build a viable ecosystem for esports organizations while unlocking many revenue streams for them.”

In an interview with AFK Gaming, Nandy revealed that the organizations in the Skyesports Masters are already in the midst of putting together rosters. Fans can expect to see many of the "OG" pros coming back while Skyesports focuses on introducing new talent to the mix through the open qualifiers.

He revealed, "We are onboarding brand ambassadors, creators, influencers across gaming, Bollywood, and cricket who we are looking to work with not just this year but in the future as well. The LAN event in Mumbai with a live audience across several weeks is also a part of this as it will offer a glimpse to fans at the future of esports and allow us to interact directly with the audience."

Skyesports is also planning to partner with a major OTT platform to broadcast the event in regional languages. The esports event organizer wants to invest heavily into Counter-Strike's future. 2024 onwards, Skyesports will be transitioning from CS:GO to Counter-Strike 2.

Skyesports also wants to make the business side of esports sustainable for organizations. Nandy revealed, "We are directly assisting with unlocking revenue streams for them so they can grow their teams and invest more in their players and individual marketing campaigns. We recognize that the key part of growing the Skyesports Masters comes with growing the individual teams in the league and forming storylines around them."

The upcoming event will last three months and Skyesports will be leveraging its position in the market to unlock revenue streams for all eight franchised teams in the Skyesports Masters with sponsorships, merchandise sales, and media rights deals. This will allow Skyesports to build an ecosystem around CS:GO and eventually Counter-Strike 2.

Fans can attend the event in person or they can watch the event on YouTube.