Sports

Live streaming of esports has been a big draw for gaming enthusiasts in South East Asia. 
For the first time, Nepali gaming fans experienced watching an esports match live on a big screen at QFX Chhaya Centre in Kathmandu on Thursday. 

The movie theatre beamed live streaming of The 2022 PUBG MOBILE Pro League (PMPL) South Asia Championship Fall. The theatre will live stream the event until Sunday.

Six Nepali teams, each comprising four gamers, are competing against four Mongolian and six Pakistani sides for the biggest PUBG event in South Asia, PMPL, which carries a $150,000 purse. 

The title winners will take home $40,000, and the runners-up will pocket $28,000. Along with the prize money, the top three teams will get a chance to participate in the PUBG Mobile Global Championship. 

Nepali teams in the fray are High Voltage, DRS Gaming, Elementrix, Skylightz Gaming, Trained to Kill and Venom Legends. 

"The matches will be screened on all four days at the QFX Chhaya Center, which is one of the biggest cinema chains in Nepal," In Game Esports, the local organisers, said in a statement. 

PUBG MOBILE fans can win tickets to the screening through official PUBG MOBILE social pages. In addition, the event is being broadcast live across different social media channels of PUBG and the participating teams. 

Fans and esports players cast their hope that the event will "educate the audience on the future of Esports in Nepal and to cheer the Nepali esports community," the statement added. 

The event kicked off on Thursday in the presence of Nepali celebrity cricketer Gyanendra Malla and popular artiste Riyasha Dahal. 

With the growth in smartphone adoption and internet speed, South Asian countries have seen a massive increase in active players and esports viewership of mobile games, especially big names like PUBG and Free Fire. 

PUBG Mobile, a battle royale published by Tencent Games, gives you dopamine-heavy playtime, in which 100 players are parachuted into a remote island to battle, and the winner will be the last one surviving. 

The game requires players to scavenge their weapons, ammunition, gear, vehicles, and other supplies in a constantly shrinking play zone. PUBG is a very demanding game that requires good hand-eye coordination and battle-survival tactics in the evolving match. 

With growing popularity, PUBG has grown as a huge name in competitive esports and has now been selected as one of the medal events in the upcoming Asian Games at Hangzhou.