The Indian DOTA 2 team played into the history records by clinching the bronze medal at the first-ever Commonwealth Esports Championship recently. With Moin Ejaz as Captain, the squad of Ketan Goyal, Abhishek Yadav, Shubhnam Goli and Vishal Vernekar, defeated New Zealand 2-0 in a best-of-three format.

So, what does this victory mean for esports and the Indian players? Speaking to exchange4media, an elated Ejaz said: “Since the win, we’ve been flooded with brand sponsorship offers. We are holding discussions within the team to associate with brands that will gel well with all team members, and we will be announcing the same soon.”

Animesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of 8bit Creatives, shared more on this victory’s potential. “After years of grinding, this victory has surely put us a step ahead in the process of recognizing esports as a sport by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). But when I see the impact that it is having on the industry and on our society, I realize its true scale. We have the potential and we can surely nurture many athletes for such upcoming events.” Agarwal says he hopes this win would result in more tournaments around all esports titles and a big tally of investments and sponsorship for the teams and athletes in India. “The more support for gaming flourishes, the more gamers can help good brands and products reach the right audience.”

The win indeed gives a fillip to the entire gaming community, agrees Rohit Agarwal, Founder & Director, Alpha Zegus, a marketing agency specializing in the domains of gaming and lifestyle. “Not only is this a confidence booster for players, parents, and other stakeholders, even brands will take notice of such achievements. They would definitely want to associate with current (or potential) names that put India on a global roadmap, similar to sports like cricket. We might even see brands recognize players from games apart from the mainstream games, and give a certain monetization boost to a new segment of gaming altogether.”

Sagar Nair, Co-Founder & CEO, Qlan, The Gamer's Social Network, noted, "Looking at it from a marketing perspective, this opens up doors for brands to get into team sponsorships, athlete endorsements, product integrations and any other form of brand partnership that brands have been engaging with other sports and athletes. Also, since esports is a proper medal event at the next Asian Games, this can potentially open the floodgates for brands to reach out to a massive GenZ consumer base."

Meanwhile, Lokesh Suji, Director of Esports Federation of India and Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation, believes brands have to look at Esports as their long-term marketing strategy to develop and grow the sport, and not just as activation tools. “Our athletes/teams need support and encouragement from the brands for the long run just like any other sports athlete. We hope brands will put their focus and eyes on this next-generation sport and come up with a long-term vision to grow the sport and upskill our esports talent.”

Speaking of the potential, Yashash Agarwal, CEO & Co-founder, Gamezop, says: "This is a big one for the gaming industry in India. Such successes, especially that of a global flavour, will pave way for the growth of a large esports community in the country. With growth coming in from all verticals - casual and competitive gaming alike - it's an exciting time to be in gaming in India."

Talking of the way ahead, Suji contended, "Our next stop will be Asian Games 2022, where Esports is a proper medal event, and our focus is to excel in the tournament with multiple podium finishes and bringing the laurels for our country. The esports community wants and requires esports to be recognised by the government as a sport in India to gain the benefits and support any sports community and athletes would receive. We want our esports industry to grow, develop and be nurtured just like any other sports in India."