"Country's biggest" mobile esports tournament crowns new champions

Discovery One, a local esports organisation, has recently hosted the D1 Mobile Mania 2024, deemed the "biggest mobile esports tournament in Bangladesh". Held at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) on July 12, the event was title-sponsored by Airtel, and had a total prize pool of BDT 30 lakh, with over 1,700 local esports players and over 250 local esports teams competing in Call Of Duty: Mobile (CODM), Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB), and eFootball 2024.

Team 1HP, winners of the CODM segment.

One of the most anticipated games of the tournament, Call of Duty: Mobile (CODM), saw intense competition among the top teams in Bangladesh. In the end, Team 1HP emerged victorious among the 12 teams that competed in the final, winning BDT 4 lakh as prize money. Nahid Hassan Ratul (1HP Snorlax) was named the MVP for the CODM event, bagging BDT 60,000. The runners-up, team LBD Reborn, was awarded BDT 2 lakh for their impressive performance.

Team Comfort Crowd, winners of the MLBB segment.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), a popular mobile game in both Bangladesh and worldwide, was another highlight of the D1 Mobile Mania 2024. The finals was a best-of-three match series between local esports teams Comfort Crowd and Kingsman. Comfort Crowd ultimately triumphed, winning 2-0 and claiming the prize money of BDT 5 lakh. Rabbi Descargar (Laars) from Comfort Crowd was named the finals MVP and was awarded BDT 60,000 for his performance. The other team, Kingsman, became the runners-up, winning BDT 2.5 lakh prize money.

Ryan Ismail, winner of the eFootball 2024 segment.

With its focus on virtual soccer, eFootball 2024 brought a different flavour to the tournament, with the final's nail-biting gameplay providing a thrilling experience for spectators. Ryan Ismail proved to be the standout player in this category, securing the championship by winning the two-match series on 5-1 aggregate goals. Ismail was awarded BDT 3 lakh for his tournament-winning performance. However, the tournament's highest scorer was the runner-up Abdullah Bin Jahangir, who secured BDT 1.5 lakh for the runner-up title and an additional BDT 50,000 for being the MVP.

In a post-final match interview, Ismail, the champion of the eFootball 2024 segment, said, "The mobile game eFootball has more than 5 lakh active players in Bangladesh. The community is growing more because gamers are now actively participating in esports tournaments, which is in turn, attracting youths to consider esports as a viable career option." Ismail believes that with more local tournaments and active engagements, local esports players will be able to bring international achievements by competing with gamers across the world.

D1 Mobile Mania 2024 showcased the growing esports culture in Bangladesh, drawing passionate fans and widespread participation. The event highlighted esports' potential as a career path, with new champions in popular mobile games leading the way.