Paytm Links Up With ESPL
Esports in India got another significant boost today with the news that Paytm First Games has teamed up with the Esports Players League (ESPL) for mobile esports tournaments in India.
ESPL is based in Singapore and announced last fall that it had raised over $2 million as it continues to improve its esports tournament and media network. ESPL targets amateur gamers who are looking to become professionals.
Details of the new partnership show Paytm First Games will manage the introduction of ESPL’s amateur esports platform in India. It will set up tournaments, acquire users, secure local sponsorship and partnership deals, and use existing contacts to push local media content.
ESPL will deliver the technology, global sponsorships, media deals, and esports strategy. The first ESPL season is set to run from May to November.
The coronavirus shutdown has seen a boost in traffic to Patym First Games, which is India’s quickest growing gaming destination. It already had more than half a million daily active gamers, with over 75,000 new users joining the platform daily in the month before the nationwide shutdown started. That number is expected to have increased substantially.
Paytm First Games chief operating officer Sudhanshu Gupta told VentureBeat that “esports is already growing really fast in India. With the circumstances like what we are going through now with COVID-19, it is adding more fuel to the fire. We clearly see a big opportunity for a large organized player to come in and create a larger ecosystem around esports.”
ESPL CEO Michael Broda noted that India was a key target for the company with over a million mobile gamers and 5G connectivity coming this year.
ESPL has signed franchise partnership agreements in Southeast Asia and Latin America. It also has a media partnership with eGG Network, the largest esports TV network in Southeast Asia and Australia reaching nearly 100 million TV viewers.
It’s not the first big news of the week for Paytm. Earlier this week they announced they have partnered with game developer and publisher SuperCell to launch a ‘Clash Royale’ tournament.
