The Indian CS:GO team is ready and eager to showcase its gaming skills at the 14th World Esports Championship that begins on December 1 in Bali, Indonesia. The team’s first match will be against Tajikistan on December 2.
Ritesh Sarda (Defaulter), Shuvajyoti Chakraborty (Mcg1LLzZz), Anshul Adarkar (KiiLSwitCh), Hrishikesh Shenoy (Crazy_Gamer) and Harsh Jain (lynX) comprise the Indian CS:GO team.
India has been placed in Group C along with Tajikistan, Team IESF and Chile. After its eighth-place finish in the last edition of the tournament held in Eilat, Israel, the team will be determined to clinch a podium finish this time around.
Captain Ritesh Sarda said his team hoped to perform well in the event.“It’s been a great honour to represent India back-to-back in the WEC. We as a team are excited and prepared to play in the upcoming WEC starting next week in Bali. The world finals is going to be a huge spectacle. With the right mentality and proper grind, we have high hopes for the tournament and will try to bring the laurels to the country.”
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Gaming athletes from over 120 countries will take part in the Championship. Awards are on offer in six disciplines: CS:GO, Dota 2, Tekken 7, eFootball PUBG Mobile, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Bang. A total prize money of USD 500,000 (INR 4 crore approx.) will be up for grabs. The Indian team has the same athletes which played the last World Esports Championship in Eilat.
“Our athletes have great potential and we are confident that they will give a tough challenge to the world’s best and emerge victorious and make our glorious nation proud. I wish them all the very best and look forward to see them triumph in their respective titles,” said Yugal Kishore Sharma, Director of Esports Federation of India.
Hitesh Khorwal (Rcool) and Hemanth Kommu (Peshemak7) will represent India in the Tekken 7 and eFootball events respectively. Khorwal will battle it out against athletes from Pakistan, Bahamas, Venezuela and Palestine in the Group E, and will be beginning his challenge against Lucius Antoine of the Bahamas on December 3.
Khorwal’s clash against Arslan Siddique of Pakistan on the same day following his opening game will be one to watch out for. Arslan has won the VSFighting X, Dreamhack 2022 and Combo Breaker 2022 titles earlier this year.
‘Great opportunity’
“As a mountain to climb it already is, I feel confident as well as prepared for this. It’s a great opportunity to prove my mettle against the literal virtuosos of the title and my body, soul and mind, is ready for it. Bring it on, Bali!” Hitesh said.
Kommu, on the other hand, will be competing against athletes from Kazakhstan, Armenia and Guinea in Group P. He will play his first match against Cheick Conde of Guinea on December 3.
“I’m confident with my grind and will try my best to get the best results in the tournament and want to bring some glory from it back home.” Kommu said.
The group stage games for Tekken 7 will be contested in the best-of-three format and for CS:GO it will be in the best-of-one. Following the conclusion of the group stage, the top two teams from each group will progress into the next round in the CS:GO and Tekken 7. In eFootball, only the top team of the group will qualify for the next stage.