Shantanu Basu is one among 52 finalists selected from 34 cities across the country, all set to fight it out in a first-of-its-kind 24-hour game-a-thon at the Zapak Gameplex, Imax Wadala, this Wednesday.
So, you thought football fever was over? Wait till you meet 21-year-old Shantanu Basu. Basu is one among 52 finalists selected from 34 cities across the country, all set to fight it out in a first-of-its-kind 24-hour game-a-thon at the Zapak Gameplex, Imax Wadala, this Wednesday, with prizes worth Rs1.5 crore at stake.
“Internationally, gaming is a professional sport. With online gaming catching on, the idea of the championship is to bring in a similar attitude towards gaming in India,” says Rakesh Rao, business head, consumer activation, Zapak Digital Entertainment ltd, about the event.
The 24-seater gaming cafe will bring together football fields, tennis courts and war grounds under the same roof. “I have clocked up 7-8 hours of gaming in earlier tournaments. But participating in a room full of gamers and engaging in 24 hours of non-stop gaming is surely going to be an exhilarating experience,” says Basu, who will fly in to the city Wednesday morning to participate in the finals.
The finalists have been selected after three gruelling qualifying rounds: preliminary, city and zonal, to make it to the finals in the city.
The tournament will see gamers competing in two categories: hardcore and casual. While the hardcore category comprises four games — Counter Strike, DOTA, FIFA and NFS — the casual games will include Speedway Racing and Tennis.
“We hope to enter the Limca Book of Records with this tournament,” says Rao. He added that there were rest areas and food and beverages for the participants.
While last year there were 1.16 million participants over eight cities, this year the championship was expanded to include 34 cities and received 1.19 million registrations.
The competition will also accommodate gamers through a special wild card entry between 10am and 12pm, while the tournament starts at 1pm.
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