Pakistan’s Portal Esports crowned champions of first IGE South Asia Cup hosted in Sri Lanka

InGame Esports – an Esports organisation focussed on growing Esports in South Asia – organised the first-ever INGAME Esports South Asia Cup at the Sri Lanka Exhibition & Convention Centre (SLECC). 

The League of Legends championship brought together the best teams representing five South Asian countries – Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka who faced each other in a round-robin format and the top 2 from the group playing a grand-finals for a total prize pool of $ 5,000. The event was hosted with the support of the Sri Lanka Esports Association and the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka. 

With over a decade of experience in organising events that draw massive crowds in Sri Lanka, this is the first event organised by InGame Esports which saw the participation of foreign teams that arrived in the country to take part in the tournament. The IGE South Asia Cup was aimed at growing the South Asian Esports scene which saw a boost with Esports being included in the Asian Games last August.

The National Esports Associations of Pakistan and Maldives conducted qualifiers to choose the best League of Legends team to represent their respective countries. The qualified team then arrived in Sri Lanka where they spent three days competing in the Esports cup. Direct invites were sent to the best teams in India and Bangladesh.

The Pakistan Esports Federation held local qualifiers in order to choose the best League of Legends team to represent the country. Portal Esports emerged as country representatives and went into the IGE South Asia Cup as favorites, following their clean sweep at the Asian Games regional qualifiers. Portal completed the event without conceding a single game, including a 2-0 clincher in the grand finals that saw them walk away with $ 3,000 to their name.

Following their performance at the Asian Games, Ruthless Gaming from India was given a direct invite to take part in the IGE South Asia Cup. The team was acquired by Indian Esports juggernaut Entity Gaming and played under their banner in Sri Lanka. Entity Gaming secured a solid second place slot by beating all teams, with only Portal denying them a win. The team took home $ 1,500 for their runner-up placement at the championship.

The big variable in the tournament, Bangladesh hadn’t taken part in the Asian Games this year and therefore their performance could not be predicted by analysts. Esports veterans Red Viperz Gaming received a direct invite to take part in the championship. Bangladesh finished in third place by winning their games against Sri Lanka and the Maldives, taking home $ 500 for their efforts.

The Sri Lanka Cyber Games championship was used as a qualifier to pick the best Sri Lankan League of Legends team to represent the country at the IGE South Asia Cup. Team Lanka Lions from local clan Phoenix Gaming won the qualifier and proceeded to play the rest of the countries on day 2 onwards. Sri Lanka came in 4th place, losing to Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, and winning against the Maldivian team. Being a young team, Lanka Lions are expected to make a strong come back at next year’s international events.

The youngest team playing at the IGE South Asia Cup, Ranna Maari Esports were chosen by the Maldives Esports Association to represent the country at the IGE South Asia Cup. Consisting of five fresh faces with no previous international experience, Ranna Maari Esports put in a strong showing for their first time outside of home.

The successful completion of the IGE South Asia Cup marks a new chapter for Esports in the sub-continent as InGame Esports continues to set new milestones and bridge the cultural and language gaps between the countries through Esports.