If you had any doubt that gaming was just a fad, you should have been at the Zero Friction Vixture Gaming Championship, held recently at the World Trade Centre
A recent tournament attracted young enthusiasts with total prize money of Rs50 lakhIf you had any doubt that gaming was just a fad, you should have been at the Zero Friction Vixture Gaming Championship, held recently at the World Trade Centre, Cuffe Parade. The three-day event, the country’s biggest so far, was a gamer’s delight with a whopping Rs50 lakh in prize money.
It was win-win for the enthusiasts, who were in the age group of 12 to 26 years. Over 50 teams, each with five players, participated in the team championship, the winning bunch taking away Rs20 lakh.
Charusheela Sabale, director, Zero Friction, said, “We wanted to provide a platform for gamers at the all-India level. We will hold this event every year.”
The team event was won by LSG Plan A from Mumbai. The runners-up from Hyderabad won Rs10 lakh. Arun Singh Ravi won Rs4 lakh in NFS ProStreet, Cricket ‘07 was won by Vinay Soni, and FIFA ‘08 went to Reuben Pereira, all from Mumbai.
But the cynosure of all eyes was a team from Bangalore, whose members were perhaps the youngest at the event. These 12- to 14-year-olds lost in the semi-finals, but their spirits did not drop. Pratham Marwaha, 12, said, “We follow gaming. We look forward to these championships every time.”
Gaming is not just fun, it is also serious business. Last year, a FIFA Interactive World Cup was held in Berlin, where India was represented by Sachit Reddy, 14.
Yash Bali, marketing manager of EA Sports, said, “Gaming will be big considering the number of children into it.” Atindra Bose, country manager, Sony Computer Entertainment, said, “The sale of PlayStation last year was six times more. We
expect that number to rise this year, too.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}