Dew Arena is taking Indian Gaming culture to new heights, concludes 2nd edition

For years gaming has enthused young minds around the globe and has become one of the most sought after careers for game lovers. Gamer needs quick reflexes and hardcore gaming skills but the most important aspect to pursue gaming as a career is a platform to showcase the talent. If you happen to walk on the path of being a professional gamer, then Mountain Dew has got something really special for you.

In a bid to fuel the Indian gaming culture, the brand has recently conducted the 2nd edition of Dew Arena in India. The annual gaming championship spanned 300 locations and 125 cities over a time-period of six-months. It comes on the back of a successful 1st edition that saw record participation from 75,000 gamers across the country, thereby becoming the largest ever gaming championship in India till date.

After the semi-final held in the Capital on 29th September, the top 24 finalists from across 11 states battled it out in a bid to ultimately be crowned as the top 12 winner and win a prize pool of Rs. 20 lakh.

After an ardent on ground battle, which featured games such as Street Fighter V and Rocket League, the final winners that emerged were Entity Gaming inCounter-Strike: Global Offensive, Aggressive 5 in DOTA 2, Rahul "FTWRahul" Poundarik in Rocket League and Bhagwant "B3" Bagh in Street Fighter V.

The gaming championship, which started just last year, has turned into a global event for gaming enthusiasts. An important part of the event is a special Gaming Truck that spanned 300 locations across 125 cities in 11 states to make young gamers experience cutting edge technology in the gaming world.

The 2nd edition of the Dew Arena widened up the opportunity for consumers by organizing a power packed event in New Delhi, India. The event witnessed the presence of six of the most prominent names in the global gaming scenario lent their expertise as analysts at the event.

The expert team includes - Hector Rosario, gaming commentator and CEO of international esports organization, Flipside Tactics; Dana Kawar, CMO, FlipSide Tactics; Niels Wolter, MD, ESL, the world's oldest professional esports organization; Antwan Ortiz, celebrated International Street Fighter Gamer; Joni Humaloja and David Lawrie, two of the highest-ranking players for International Rocket League Gamer globally. The team gave budding enthusiasts tips to hone their gaming skills.

We at Gizbot interacted with Antwan Ortiz, International Street Figher gamer to understand the current status of India on global gaming scale. Importantly we asked the professional gamer about the journey from playing games in a bedroom to the tournament and winning it on a global platform.

He replied by saying that it is extremely tough and not something that just happens overnight. It takes years of hard work, dedication and thousands of hours of practice.

On being asked what advice he wants to give to young gamers in India who consider gaming as a professional career, the global player said, "This industry is amazing, and there is nothing like standing on a stage in front if a sold out stadium, hearing fans cheer for you. But, there is no easy road to get there. There are a lot of setbacks, a lot of obstacles and hurdles before making that stage. You have to really love the job to sustain you through the hard times".

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We also tried to understand his opinion about gamers in India and what rating he would give them on a scale of 1 to 10 on global scale. Ortiz replied by saying, 'India has a huge population of gamers and an insane amount of raw talent. As far as bare talent, Indian gamers are equal to anywhere else in the world. What India has lacked so far is global experience'.

He also added, 'There are not too many tournaments here, and even fewer players from here who travel internationally for tournaments. To become a world class player, it takes a lot of travel and experience at all different tournaments. That is what makes the difference between raw talent and a world champion, hard work and tournament experience.' We believe this is where gaming championships like Dew Arena can fill the gap.

Last but not the least, we asked the professional gamer the question that every young gamer has to deal on personal level. Professional gaming is not considered as a long-term career seeing the fluctuation in popularity of games that can affect gamers' income. What can be the other alternatives for gamers in such scenarios? Ortiz replied by giving some useful advice here.

He mentioned, "I don't agree there is a lifespan to a career in eSports. Like any pro sport, a career as a starter has a timeline, but there is so much room to grow from there. You can become a host, or media personality. You can move on to coaching or management. You can create your own brand, or work for player advocacy or agency. The opportunities in eSports are endless, and even more so if you think of gaming as a whole".

So now when you have answers of some very important questions and a platform that can give you global exposure, all you need is to work on your skills. Write to us for queries on Dew Arena and Gaming.