The Global Chess League (GCL), a joint venture between Tech Mahindra and FIDE, on Monday unveiled the six participating franchises for its first edition, scheduled to be held from June 21 to July 2 at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club.
U SPORTS, Insurekot Sports (ISPL), Punit Balan Group, Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd., Chingari App, and APL Apollo-led SG Sports are the franchises that’ll be competing in the event.
The GCL is bringing together stars such as Viswanathan Anand, Ding Liren, Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hou Yifan, Kateryna Lagno, and other renowned players, alongside sports entrepreneurs as franchise owners.
The league will commence with a players’ draft where franchise owners will select players for their respective teams.
Here’s all you need to know about the six team:-
U SPORTS - Mumba Masters
Led by Ronnie Screwvala, U SPORTS has participated in sports like Kabaddi, Table Tennis, and eSports in India. It will make its international debut with the upGrad Mumba Masters team in the GCL.
Insurekot Sports (ISPL) - Ganges Grandmasters
The second franchise of the tournament will be Ganges Grandmasters, led by Insurekot Sports (ISPL), an entity owned by Suresh Kotak. ISPL also owns the Pro Kabaddi League team and Ultimate Table Tennis League team, Puneri Paltan.
Punit Balan Group (PBG) - Balan Alaskan Knights
The third in this list of owners is the Punit Balan Group (PBG) which will own the team, Balan Alaskan Knights. Led by entrepreneur and businessman Punit Balan, the PBG has invested heavily across various sports leagues in India over the last two years.
Triveni Engineering & Industries Limited - Triveni Continental Kings
Triveni Engineering & Industries Limited is an integrated sugar manufacturer in India. It also has engineering businesses comprising Power Transmission business and Water & Wastewater treatment solutions, and Triveni Turbine Limited (TTL), a corporation with core competency in industrial heat & power solutions and decentralized steam-based renewable turbines up to 100 MW size. It makes its sports debut with Triveni Continental Kings in the GCL.
Chingari App (Tech4Billion Group) - Chingari Gulf Titans
It is a Web3 Social Networking App, whose popularity has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also debut in the sports business with its team Chingari Gulf Titans in the GCL.
APL Apollo-led SG Sports - SG Alpine Warriors
The sixth in this list of owners is APL Apollo-led SG Sports, a building material company, which will join the GCL bandwagon with its team SG Alpine Warriors.
GCL has unveiled plans to kick off its first two seasons with the participation of these six franchises.
The annual GCL tournament will introduce a unique mixed-team format, wherein each of the six franchises will engage in a total of 10 matches played in a double round-robin style. In this setup, the winner of each match will be determined through a best-of-six board scoring system, played simultaneously. The top two teams emerging from these encounters will then proceed to the final, scheduled to take place on July 2.
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