Gaming
Team Top-G wins DOTA 2 NESC 2023
Mumbai: Displaying exceptional teamwork and stellar gameplay, Team Top-G prevailed in the National Esports Championships (NESC) 2023, organized by the Esports Federation of India (ESFI), and qualified for the regional qualifiers of the Global Esports Games (GEG) 2023. The team will now battle it out against Malaysia and Mongolia in the regionals to secure their berth in the global finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Under the leadership of Manav Kunte (mnz), the squad comprising Krish Gupta (Krish-), Khaja Hussain (Pinkman), Ketan Goyal (Evil-ash), Vishal Vernekar (Hbk) and substitute Darshan Bata (A35) toppled The Mob by 2-0 in the best-of-three finals. Team Top-G had also represented India in the Asian qualifiers of DOTA 2 for the 15th World Esports Championships earlier this year.
Expressing his enthusiasm for the victory, Top-G team captain Manav Kunte said, “Winning the NESC 2023 for the second time this year is a surreal feeling. Securing our spot in the regional qualifiers for GEG23 is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and skill set of every team member. We want to express our gratitude to ESFI for providing the platform for us to represent India on the global stage and we are determined to make our nation proud.”
The first game of the finals witnessed both teams going neck-to-neck with Top-G edging out their opponents by 51-32 to take the lead. The second game however was thoroughly lopsided and Top-G comfortably overpowered The Mob by 24-6 to be crowned champions. The squad’s prominent players Vishal and Ketan were also part of the historic DOTA 2 team that clinched the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Esports Championships in 2022.
“We congratulate Team Top-G on their brilliant performance in the NESC 2023. By successfully qualifying for the regional qualifiers of two of the biggest Esports tournaments in the world, they have established themselves as the best DOTA 2 team in the country. We are confident that their remarkable talent will help the country ace the regional qualifiers and make their mark in Riyadh,” commented Esports Federation of India director & Asian Esports Federation (AESF) VP Lokesh Suji.
The Global Esports Games 2023 (GEG23) is scheduled to take place from 11 to 16 December and will feature a total of four major titles: DOTA 2, Street Fighter, eFootball 2023, and PUBG Mobile with all participants being above the minimum age of 18, to ensure a fair and competitive environment. India will be participating in three of the four titles in the Open category – DOTA 2, eFootball 2023, and Street Fighter 6.
One of the country’s top sports and esports communication agencies, Artsmith-Concepts & Visions, will continue its support to the Esports Federation of India as their official communication partner.
Following the conclusion of the national qualifiers for DOTA 2, the qualifiers for eFootball 2023 and Street Fighter 6 will kick off on 9 September.
The NESC’23 will be played in a double-elimination format. The exciting action from the Championships will be streamed live on ESFI’s official YouTube and Facebook pages.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
