India’s all-female CS:GO team is all set to make its mark on the international stage as the squad sets its sights on securing a berth for the 15th World Esports Championships (WEC) by going head-to-head against notable teams from the continent at the Asian qualifiers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from July 15 to 17.
Led by captain Swayambika Sachar (Sway), the star-studded team comprising Nidhi Salekar (Stormyy), Shagufta Iqbal (Xyaa), Dilraj Kaur Matharu (COCO), and Aastha Nangia (Crackshot) will face off against Kyrgyzstan and Saudi Arabia on the first day, followed by matches against Hong Kong China and Australia on the second day.
The group stage matches will be played in the best-of-one format with the semi-finals and grand finals being contested in the best-of-three format. Only two of the five teams will qualify for the 15th WEC with the champions being rewarded with $7000 in prize money. The second and third-placed teams will each be awarded $3,500 and $2,000 respectively.
By emerging victorious in the National Esports Championships (NESC) 2023, organized by the Esports Federation of India (ESFI) earlier this year the team outclassed Sri Lanka in the South Asian qualifiers to secure their spot in the Asian Qualifiers.
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One of the country’s top sports & Esports communication agencies, Artsmith-Concepts & Visions, will continue its support to the Esports Federation of India as their official communication partner along with Hama, FITGMR, Mandeha, Upthrust & Inox as Training, Coaching, Psychology, Execution & Multiplex Partners.
In spite of their best efforts, the Indian DOTA 2 team bowed out of the Asian qualifiers by suffering hard-fought defeats against Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, and the Philippines. Meanwhile, the nation’s male CS:GO team commenced with their qualifiers on Thursday.
The country’s well-renowned Tekken 7 professional Abhinav Tejan and eFootball athlete Ibrahim Gulrez have already secured their qualification at the 15th WEC that has a whopping prize pool of $500,000 (INR 4.12 crore) and is set to be the largest edition of the tournament to date with at least 130 countries participating in eFootball, DOTA 2, Tekken7, Mobile Legends, PUBG: Mobile and CS:GO.
