Garena has unveiled its line-up of Free Fire tournaments for the Indian server in 2021. Building on a year of esports in 2020, Free Fire is set to host 4 tournaments across two pro circuits next year with a total prize pool of more than Rs. 2 crore (approx. $272,000).
Garena wants to ensure a cadence of one major tournament per quarter for 2021 which will keep a steady pipeline of esports events in India throughout the year. The tournaments will be open to all teams and players, regardless of level and background, and will be an opportunity to compete against the best on the national stage. These will eventually ladder up to Free Fire’s international tournaments as well.
In addition, Garena has also announced that other smaller scale community-focused tournaments are also in the pipeline and will be revealed next year.
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Free Fire India Pro Esports Circuit
Garena’s 2021 esports roadmap will comprise 2 Pro seasons, each of which will consist of 2 major tournaments – a Free Fire Pro League tournament followed by a Free Fire India Championship (FFIC) finale. Each Pro season will have a prize pool of more than Rs 1,00,00,000.
Garena’s 4 Free Fire tournaments in India for 2021 will be:
- Free Fire India Championship 2021 Spring
- Free Fire Pro League 2021 Summer
- Free Fire India Championship 2021 Fall
- Free Fire Pro League 2021 Winter
The 2021 Pro Esports Circuit will only begin after the FFIC 2021 Spring as the tournament will not have a preceding Pro League tournament. As such, the FFIC 2021 Spring will be the last stand-alone tournament.
Free Fire Pro League
The Free Fire Pro League tournaments will signal the start of each competitive season and will be the first opportunity for teams to qualify for the FFIC.
Each Pro League tournament will consist of 18 teams – the 12 finalists from the previous season’s FFIC and the top 6 teams from the open qualifiers. Each Pro League tournament will see teams compete for a prize pool of Rs 35,00,000 and entry into the next FFIC as one of the top seeds. The top 6 teams will book their spots directly in the next FFIC, while the teams who place 7th to 12th will earn the right to skip the open qualifiers stage of the next FFIC by advancing directly to the closed qualifiers.
Free Fire India Championship
Each FFIC will function as the national qualifiers for Free Fire’s international tournaments. It will bring together the best teams from across India to compete for a prize pool of Rs 75,00,000, and will grant the the title of being the best team in India, and the opportunity to represent their nation on the global stage.
Teams can qualify for the FFIC league stage in 2 ways:
1. Achieve top 6 in the previous season’s Free Fire Pro League tournament
2. Advance to and achieve top 12 in the closed qualifiers stage of the FFIC
All aspiring esports teams and players will be eligible to participate in the open qualifiers through the in-game mode, Free Fire Cup. The top teams from the Free Fire Cup will proceed to the closed qualifiers, where they will meet the 7th to 12th place teams in the Free Fire Pro League. These teams will compete for the remaining 12 slots in the FFIC league stage.
The 18 teams in the FFIC league stage will then compete in a series of matches over the course of the league. The top 6 teams will proceed directly to the grand finals, while the remaining 12 teams will compete in the play-ins for the remaining 6 slots.
Free Fire India Championship 2021 Spring
In the absence of a Pro League tournament before the FFIC 2021 Spring, the top 6 finalists from FFIC 2020 Fall will be directly seeded into the FFIC 2021 Spring league stage. The remaining 6 finalists from the FFIC 2020 Fall will proceed to the closed qualifiers, where they will compete for the remaining 12 slots of the league stage, with teams that make it through the open qualifiers. The top 12 teams from the league stage will make it to the grand finals of the FFIC 2021 Spring.
