India, Aug. 14 -- Season 3 of the Global e-Cricket Premier League wrapped up in Pune on Sunday, August 9, with eight franchises, up from six last year; a record Rs.3.1 crore prize pool; and a broadcast deal that took the tournament to American and Canadian television for the first time. Two seasons ago, GEPL was played in front of a single stadium's worth of fans. Now, it has exploded beyond the subcontinent, and I spent the weekend at the Jairaj Sports and Convention Centre in Pune talking to the people behind that virality - franchise owners, players, and the board of JetSynthesys, the entertainment and tech company that built the league around the mobile title Real Cricket.

Real Cricket matches in the GEPL are not T20 or even T10 ties...