Mumbai, Sep 14 (IANS): The reigning national champion Hemanth Kommu has qualified for the Finals of 13th Esports World Championship after a brilliant performance in the Regional Qualifiers. The Finals take place offline in Eilat, Israel, from November 14-19.

With a top-position finish in PES 2021 in the South Asia Region, Hemanth also became the first Indian to seal a spot in the Finals of the Esports World Championships.

The Vijayawada resident, who is currently pursuing his Masters from IIT Guwahati, was up against participants from Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Maldives and Sri Lanka at the Regional Qualifiers which were held online owing to the on-going Covid-19 pandemic, the Esports Federation of India informed on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old Indian carried his winning form from the recent Nationals into this prestigious event and showed excellent display of strategic and skillful game.

Kommu registered convincing victories against his opponents as he secured a berth in the World Championship Finals, which are scheduled to take place offline in Eilat, Israel from November 14-19.

"It's a great feeling to represent India in the PES series, the game which I have loved playing since my childhood days. It's sheer dedication and hard work resulted in getting the spot in the Finals of EWC'21 and it allowed me a chance to bring the laurels for the country. The right mentality and proper grind towards the game makes everything possible and a sure-shot path to get the success," elated Hemant Kommu aka peshemak7 said after securing the Finals berth at the World Championships.

A five-member Team India CS:GO, comprising captain Ritesh Sarda, Shuvajyoti Chakraborty, Anshul Adardkar, Hrishikesh Shenoy and Harsh Jain, and Tekken 7 player Hitesh Khorwal will be seen in action in the Regional Qualifiers later as they will begin their quest for the place in the World Championship Finals on October 5.