When- 21st to 23rd December 2018.
Where- NESCO, Goregaon, Mumbai.
Ticket Prices – As low as INR 399!
The three-day weekend will feature a 24-hour-a-day LAN party, gaming competitions, a BYOC, a cosplay championship, panels, activities, expos, music concert, art and more.
The DreamHack India Invitational
The DreamHack India Invitational is the main event of the 3-day grand digital festival. The top teams from the country will be pitted against some of the top teams in the world to yield the first ever DreamHack India champions! Teams will battle it out in Dota 2 and CS:GO for a prize pool of INR 10,000,000 (One Crore Indian Rupees) / ~ USD 137,700. (Update, NODWIN Gaming has since clarified that this amount is the prize pool for the entire event. The exact prize pool breakdown for the DreamHack India Invitational will be made announced soon). Four teams will be invited for each game – two international teams and two from India. All matches from the DreamHack India Invitational will be streamed live on Voot.
KO Fight Nights
DreamHack Mumbai will also witness the biggest ever KO Fight Night Championship in the country featuring a prize pool of INR 1,700,000 (Seventeen Lakh Indian Rupees) / ~ USD 23,400 for Tekken 7 and Street Fighter V. The tournament will witness an influx of international talent and players from neighbouring countries as well as top international players from Japan, Korea and China. The format starts with open qualifiers and double elimination brackets. Matches will be played on PS4s and will be streamed on YouTube.
A landmark moment in Indian esports history
This is without a doubt the largest piece of esports news to land on Indian shores. DreamHack’s arrival indicates that established international organizations have recognized the country’s potential as an underserved esports market, and are now prepared to explore this opportunity head on.
“We are excited about entering another continent as DreamHack open its doors to the first DreamHack India event. The partnership with NODWIN Gaming helps us redefine professional gaming in India where we can offer something exciting and for millions of gamers across the region. This, we believe, will give the pro gamers the right setup to play at their full potential,” said DreamHack CEO, Marcus Lindmark. “Our goal is to build a healthy gaming ecosystem, and we look forward to helping build a successful and competitive event”, he further adds.
The coming together of esports industry veterans (NODWIN Gaming) and entertainment industry veterans (Viacom18) is a highly synergistic move that collectively boast the much needed competency to successfully pull off a venture as grand as DreamHack India.
On bringing DreamHack to India, Akshat Rathee, Founder and CEO, NODWIN Gaming says,
“DreamHack has always been the epitome of the celebration of gaming and esports globally and we are delighted to partner with Dreamhack on their Indian journey. India with its dynamic youth and famed hospitality is a great beachhead into bringing the Dreamhack experience to Asia. NODWIN Gaming has been working hard on providing the best for our community of gamers across the country. This places the love for gaming right at the centre of our ecosystem. Partnering with Viacom18 brings the synergy full circle. Their reach to the youth of our country is unparalleled and we look forward to the convergence”.
On India getting its biggest festival, Gautam Virk, Chief Operating Officer, NODWIN Gaming said,
“DreamHack brings in the zest of a digital festival which also happens to be the biggest LAN event the country has ever seen. NODWIN Gaming is pleased to have partnered with DreamHack for their Indian counterpart. We are constantly working for the excellent gaming community and we are most excited to provide them with something of this magnitude. We will make sure that no stones are left unturned in our efforts on this milestone event”
Speaking about the network’s endeavours into esports, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and Managing Director Designate, Viacom18 said:
“Viacom18 has never been one to shy away from experimenting with new concepts, ideas and formats. Given the strong affinity youth audiences have with our content, brands and experiences, we think this is the right time for us to dip our toes in the fast-paced, thrilling world of e-sports. The world is changing fast and lines are blurring between different content genres. Given the abundance of data that has been unleashed by Jio, it is only natural for the fandom around e-sports to grow by leaps and bounds in India. As the country’s youngest full-play media organization, we want to stay ahead of the curve and tap into tomorrow’s big passion points today. Our association with DreamHack is a step in this direction.”
Elaborating on this partnership, Sidharth Kedia, Head - Corporate Strategy, M&A, Data Sciences & Dy. Chief Commercial Officer, Viacom18 said,
“There is an avid gaming community in India and with Viacom18’s presence across live, digital and broadcast media along with a strong connect with the Indian youth, we are uniquely poised to leverage properties such as DreamHack in India and take e-sports to a larger audience base. We look forward to introducing this exciting property to Indian audiences.”
For more information visit http://dreamhack.com/mumbai
Disclaimer: NODWIN Gaming Pvt. Ltd. is an investor in AFK Gaming Pvt. Ltd.