Global eSports invited to ESL Clash of Nations over defending Indian champions Entity Gaming

Global eSports invited to ESL Clash of Nations over defending Indian champions Entity Gaming

Vignesh Raghuram
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Earlier today, ESL India made an announcement stating that Global eSports will receive the lone Indian slot at the ESL Clash of Nations: Bangkok 2019, on account of their performance in the Online Phase 1 - Fall Season of the ESL India Premiership.

The announcement sparked controversy, with Entity Gaming’s Manager Sid Joshi expressing his disagreement with this decision.

He states (with a disclaimer that he has nothing against the players or the Global eSports organization):

Even though Entity Gaming are the current defending champions of the Indian Dota 2 circuit, the spot has been given directly to GE. The explanation I got AFTER the invite was sent was because GE was rank 1 in phase 1 of an ongoing tournament which won't be completed until November. Afaik most other regions have been given slots based on winning their respective ESL and others have qualifiers.

This is extremely unfair to my players who've been working their asses off to dethrone the consistent Indian dota2 champions of last year and the year before.


For context, Entity Gaming won the ESL India Premiership 2019 - Summer Season Finale triumphing over Reckoning Esports, Signify and Global eSports.

We have reached out to NODWIN Gaming, the tournament organizer of the ESL India Premiership, for comments on the matter and are awaiting a response.

Akshat Rathee, Managing Director, NODWIN Gaming in an exclusive statement to AFK Gaming stated that:

"The ESL India premiership is the only national championship in the world that has a split between seasons. Our objective is always to send the best team currently in the region as a representation of the region. That team at the end of the latest split was Global eSports and that's why we went with the current best team in the country"

ESL Clash of Nations: Bangkok 2019 will be taking place as part of the Thailand Game Show. Some of the best Dota 2 teams from the Asia Pacific (APAC) region will be in attendance.

The tournament will have two stages: a play-in followed by the main event.

Play-In Phase

Four teams from Australia/New Zealand, India and the Philippines will compete in a Double-Elimination Playoff bracket from which two winners will proceed to the main event.

The list of teams for the play-in phase of ESL Clash of Nations: Bangkok 2019 is as follows:

  • Athletico Esports (Top 2 - ANZ Championship Season 4)

  • Team Oracle (Top 2 - ANZ Championship Season 4)

  • Winner of ESL Clash of Nations 2019 Philippines Closed Qualifier

  • Global eSports (Winner of Phase 1 of ESL India Premiership 2019: Fall Season)

Main Event

Two winners from the Play-In phase will join four teams that have already qualified via various regional ESL tournaments. The list of teams competing at the main event will be as follows:

  • Boom ID (Winner of the ESL Indonesia Championship Season 2)

  • Winner of the ESL Thailand Championship Season 2

  • Winner of the ESL Vietnam Championship Season 2

  • Winner of the ESL MY&SG Championship Season 2

  • Play-In Phase Winner 1

  • Play-In Phase Winner 2

Disclosure: NODWIN Gaming is a minority investor in and a client of AFK Gaming.


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Vignesh has been covering the esports industry for nearly 5 years starting with the early days of the DPC. His industry expertise includes experience in Dota 2, CS:GO and Mobile Esports coverage.

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