A historic moment for Indian esports is marked by the College Rivals Grand Finale, with 28 students sharing a prize pool of INR 50 lakh
The greatest eSports talent search in India, College Rivals, came to an impressive conclusion with 28 college students from all around the country taking home a huge INR 50 lakh prize fund.
Over 5,000 people attended the grand finale of Ampverse’s first intellectual property, Asia’s largest gaming community and IPs, which was held in partnership with DMI Finance. There was a total prize pool of INR 50 lakh, and the finalists competed individually across six titles: FIFA 23, Tekken 7, Road to Valor, BGMI, and Counter Strike-2 in a best-of-three format.
Eight finalists competed for a portion of the INR 10 lakh prize pool in the BGMI championship in this national collegiate eSports competition. In the end, Divyansh Vashisht of Delhi School of Professional Studies, Palampur, defeated Sahil Nagpal of APJ 2-1 in the championship match to take home the top prize of INR 4 lakh.
Sahil was awarded a prize of INR 2 lakh, while Swayam Jain of IIPS and Deepak Mishra of DSNV received INR 1 lakh each for placing third and fourth, respectively. Each of the four final winners received INR 50,000.
A professional Esports contract with Rivals Pro Esports was also offered to one of the Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) participants in the finals, making it a dream come true chance.
Ashwin Haryani, Country Head of Ampverse, India, said, “We are immensely proud of the vision College Rivals set out with and how it has revolutionized Indian Esports,” in reflection on the College Rivals grand finals and this historic occasion for Indian Esports. Our initial objective was to establish a long-lasting ecosystem that would really empower and elevate the gaming community on a local level.
“We are motivated to keep stepping up this initiative and contributing to the future of Indian Esports by the tremendous response we received.”
Apart from BGMI, the College Rivals grand finale featured fierce rivalry among the other titles, all of which had a prize fund of INR 5 lakhs. Each category’s winners took home a substantial reward of INR 2.5 lakh, while the runner-up took home INR 1.5 lakh. The winners in third and fourth place also received prizes of INR 50,000 each.
In a 2-0 victory against Danish Khan of DGMC, Karman Singh Tikka of Delhi Institute of Management, Gurugram—who earlier competed for India in the Asian Games 2022—showcased his prowess in FIFA 23. In Tekken 7, Vayam Bhatt from MVSIT, New Delhi, defeated Gurashish Singh from Jagannath University with the same 2-0 score to secure victory.
Arnav Manoj from SRM University in Mumbai won the Road to Valor championship with a commanding 2-0 score, showcasing extraordinary talent and perseverance. While another gifted Pune student, Samyak Magare of Ajeenkya DY Patil University, won a hard-fought 2-1 in Counter-Strike 2, Vinit Mane of DY Patil Arts and Commerce College, Pune, dominated the tournament with a 2-0 win in Valorant.
In addition to eSports events, the College Rivals finale included a wide range of entertainment for spectators, such as live performances by prominent musicians Seedhe Maut, Muhfaad, and Char Diwaari, and stand-up comedian Samay Raina.
Gamers also got the rare chance to speak with well-known eSports figures during a BGMI battle, including Tanmay Singh (ScoutOP), Payal Dhar (PayalGaming), Naman Mathur (Mortal), and Yash Thakker (lolzzzgaming).
In addition to cosplay contests, arcade gaming zones, racing simulators, VR cricket, AI live generation art, and a range of food and drinks, the unique experiential LAN event offered participants an engaging and unforgettable experience.
August marked the start of College Rivals’ adventure with city qualifications, as teams participated in matches based on brackets and arranged by location. The College Rivals Truck visited 25 institutions in five cities—New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai—as part of its City Tour, which concluded with a city qualifier that drew 92,000 players nationwide.
