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Getting started with PUBG Mobile esports: Format of tournament, viewing and more

PUBG Mobile is quite a nascent game which has found itself thrust into adulthood

Kshitij Pujari|Apr 04, 2019, 17:31:31 IST

PUBG Mobile is no longer just another mobile game. It has become somewhat of a movement. For quite some time, hardcore mobile gaming wasn't as popular as PC/console gaming. That was until PUBG Mobile came along and within a year of its release, it already has 200 million downloads over iOS and Android as of December 2018.[caption id="attachment_6259901" align="alignnone" width="1024"] PUBG.

PUBG Mobile.[/caption]While the game has received a lot of attention with regards to mental effects and addiction, one thing that can't be denied is that the game has seen phenomenal success. So much so that Tencent, the game's developer, has successfully organised two major tournaments in the country with huge amounts of cash prizes, the latest being PUBG MOBILE India Series which supposedly received 5,75,000 registrations and had a Rs 1 crore prize pool.Esports tournaments are part of many successful multiplayer games. While PC games such as CS:GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) and Dota 2 tournaments are considered the biggest in the world, the astronomical rise in popularity of PUBG Mobile has left them behind in India. I mean you could ask the common teenager in India about the best Indian CS:GO players and chances are that they wouldn't know. The same question for PUBG Mobile will lead to a stream of answers consisting of Mortal, Dynamo, 8Bit, Hydra, Maddog and more.When esports takes place, there are obviously those who tune in to watch their favourite team/player play the game. So let's take a look at how a PUBG Mobile esports event takes place and how you can join in.

Format of the tournament

Since there have been only a few PUBG Mobile tournaments conducted, the format doesn't differ. For the purpose of this article, we shall be referring to the format of PUBG MOBILE India Series. All games played in the tournament are in the 'Squad mode' which means that a minimum of four players form a team to play aginst other squads of four. After you have successfully registered, here's how the tournament progresses.[caption id="attachment_6230701" align="alignnone" width="1280"]

PUBG Mobile India Series.[/caption]In-Game qualifiersThis is the first stage to sort out the massive number of entries that come in for the tournament. Here, each team has to battle out in 15 'Classic Mode' matches in the Erangel/Miramar map with your registered squad. Out of the 15 matches, the best 10 matches will be considered based on your team's total kills and finishing position. Tiebreakers will be resolved using additional parameters including survival time and accuracy of shooting.PlayoffsThe top squads after the in-game qualifiers will be divided equally into groups. For the PUBG MOBILE India Series, the format was 2,000 squads shuffled into 100 groups and each group had 20 teams. A Classic match is played in each group to determine the top four players of that group and they qualify for the second round. The second round format is the same as the first wherein the top four teams in each group end up qualifying further. This will keep going on until 20 or 25 squads are left. In between rounds, maps can be changed depending on a popular vote from the players.FinalsIn the final, 20 or 25 teams will battle it out in a winner takes it all Classic match. After the end, apart from the main cash prize, there are separate cash prizes for in-game activities such as the most kills, most revives, highest damage and so on.

Watching the game

A major part of any esports tournament is to get the action to the viewers. In a game like Dota 2, where a lot of action is happening at the same time, the footage is focused on where the action is most likely going to take place. PUBG Mobile is more or less the same. With 100 players running around shooting, it becomes hard to focus on where the action is happening.However, unlike Dota 2, in PUBG Mobile what is happening in front of you is objectively very clear and easy to understand. Kill and survive. There's no need to understand the game any further than that.

Obviously, to get a more in-depth understanding of the action happening on your screen, you will need to play the game for yourself. Things such as camping in a squad house, baiting enemies, calling for drops, is something only viewers who have played the game will understand. Livestreams of the tournaments are usually added on YouTube or Twitch or other social media pages for people to join in. PUBG Mobile Star challenge saw nearly 230 million views online.For PUBG Mobile India Series, the camera constantly switches to the players who are involved in the maximum amount of action. The viewer can see the markers of all the players along with their team number present in the area or who are directly involved in the shootout. This makes it easier for the viewer to decipher what's happening when footage suddenly jumps from one spot to the other. A constant stream of commentary is also running in the background explaining the action.

Popular tournaments

As mentioned before, PUBG Mobile is quite a nascent game which has found itself thrust into adulthood due to its immense popularity stemming from an ease of play and convenience. There have been only three noteworthy events surrounding PUBG Mobile which are the PUBG Mobile India Series, PUBG Mobile Campus Championship and PUBG Mobile Star Challenge.[caption id="attachment_6388511" align="alignnone" width="1280"]

PUBG Mobile Club Open.[/caption]There is, of course, a new PUBG Mobile tournament being held, the likes of which has never been seen before for a mobile game. PUBG Mobile Club Open 2019 is going to be the biggest global mobile gaming event with a prize pool of a mind-boggling $2 million. The PUBG Mobile Club Open 2019 has been divided into Spring and Fall splits with each having a separate prize pool and winners going on for the Global Finals. The date for the Spring Split Global Finals has been tipped to be July 2019.

Famous players

PUBG Mobile has made some people into overnight stars, so to speak. Professional gamers such as Mortal, 8Bit, Iconic, Imazik. Smokie, Kroten and more represent India in the game. Outside India, players such as Athena, Panda, Cosmic, Levinho and more are names that people take with respect to PUBG.

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