Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports Masters MENA Series (Amazon UEM) is officially kicking off its first edition in the history of this region with a live event to be hosted by Pixel Gaming headquarters (Al Quana Shopping Center, Abu Dhabi), from July 14th-17th. University teams from KSA, UAE, Egypt, and Morocco will participate in the event taking place in the UAE capital city.
These countries have shown rapid growth and high demand for modern games, and are steadily becoming some of the best markets to support and enhance the gaming industry. The shortlisted teams will be competing with each other in Riot Games’ most important titles: League of Legends and VALORANT.
Organized by MENATech Entertainment, Amazon UEM is the most important event for the academic esports environment worldwide, giving students the chance to compete internationally and represent their institution and country. The qualifiers for this competition take place in April and May, and the eight best teams from the MENA region will venture towards the Grand Finals, to be held live in July.
Amazon UEM MENA will not only crown its first edition’s Champions, but it will also provide students with the opportunity to get a share of the competition prize pool, which will reach $10,000 (i.e. $5,000 for the winner of each competition). These Grand Finals will be broadcasted live, in English and Arabic, and will include other activities, such as viewing parties with local streamers and influencers.
Gaming’s growing importance in the region
Gaming revenues have skyrocketed, according to a report by Statista, since as of January 2021, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Morocco yielded millions of dollars in revenue from the gaming industry. Saudi Arabia has taken the lead with over USD 680 million, followed by UAE with USD 280 million, in revenue. As the number of gamers continues to rise across the MENA region, more businesses are looking to meet the expectations of this large audience.
Mario Pérez, MENATech Entertainment’s CEO, feels “proud” to see how the first Amazon UEM MENA final is now a reality, after they started operations in the region in October 2021. “We can only thank our partners, Amazon, and Riot Games, who have helped us make the dream of all gamers in the region possible. These Finals, and other events to be announced in the next few months, are just the beginning of a beautiful story that we will build together with one goal: turning MENA into a point of reference in the esports ecosystem worldwide”.
The Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports Masters MENA Series is made possible by the support of outstanding partners, such as the most important publisher, Riot Games, who has collaborated with GGTech in university competitions worldwide from the very beginning; Amazon, who names the tournament and contributes to upscaling the competition towards new levels; and sponsors who accompanied us through this first-year competition in each market as Doritos & Clear in KSA and Lifebuoy in the UAE.
