Now Reading: Real Cricket players earn livelihoods as GEPL season 3 ends
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Real Cricket players earn livelihoods as GEPL season 3 ends
Season 3 of the Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL) concluded in Pune on August 9, featuring eight franchises and a record prize pool of ₹3.1 crore. The tournament, based on the mobile…
The Story in Brief
Season 3 of the Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL) concluded in Pune on August 9, featuring eight franchises and a record prize pool of ₹3.1 crore. The tournament, based on the mobile game Real Cricket, was broadcast to the United States and Canada for the first time. Matches lasted under 30 minutes with five-over innings, attracting 174 million impressions last season, as per Hindustan Times.
The league has become a livelihood for players like Kamal Kiran Parida, a 26-year-old MBA graduate from Cuttack who now supports his family as the sole breadwinner. Ratikant Sahoo, a former state-level kabaddi player, switched to e-cricket after a knee injury. More than half the 64 players came from Tier 2 and 3 cities, with 22 first-time participants. JetSynthesys, the company behind the league, plans to expand with inter-college tournaments to build a feeder system.
The Indian Opinion
The GEPL story is often framed as either a gimmick or the next big thing. Neither is fair. It is a real income opportunity for a handful of players, but most aspiring e-sports athletes will not break through. The league's own data shows just 64 slots from lakhs of hopefuls. Parental scepticism remains strong, and the feeder college circuit is still a plan. The test will be whether JetSynthesys can sustain this scale beyond a third season, or if it remains a niche broadcast novelty. How many more players will actually become sole breadwinners a year from now?.
Sources (2): sportstar.thehindu.com, hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
