The KSA team ‘Goon uni squad’ (composed of students from Jubail University College, Taif University, University of Jeddah, King Abdulaziz University, and University of Business and Technology), emerged victorious in League of Legends at the first Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports Masters MENA Series Grand Final, after a frenetic four-day event hosted by MENA Tech (a company ofGGTech) in Abu Dhabi (UAE).
‘Goon uni squad’ beat the UAE team ‘Mystic’, composed of students from Higher Colleges of Technology, University of Wollongong in Dubai, United Arab Emirates University, American University of Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi University.
Considered as one of the top esports tournaments within the university ecosystem in Europe, the first edition of the Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports Masters MENA has shown a great level of rivalry among the different teams. The teams were not only fighting for a share of the $10,000 prize pool, but also representing their countries and universities in this international tournament and wanted the prestige of being crowned as the first MENA university champions in League of Legends and VALORANT.
After their great performance in the tournament, especially in the final against the UAE team ‘Mystic’, Bader Misfer Al Otaibi from ‘Goon uni squad’, stated: “I felt like a pro player during the tournament. We came here to play and do our best. Everyone is happy after this victory. We played well and our team took what it deserved.” He considers it “an honour” for the team to be the Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports Master MENA champions, “especially on behalf of our country.”
A lifetime experience to increase the esports space in MENA
Being a participant among 40 other university students from 31 universities across the UAE, KSA, Egypt, and Morocco, has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the competitors.
Another ‘Goon uni squad’ player, Nawaf Suwaliyh Al Jauid, stated that: “It really feels good winning the Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports MENA Masters, especially when you represent your country. Everyone did a great job, and the organization did super well, it was really fun.”
Mario Pérez, CEO of MENA Tech, said: “This first regional final is just the beginning of our commitment to help increase the esports space in the region, and be an essential path for those students passionate about video games to develop their professional careers and personal skills. Our success is thanks to our partners, Riot Games and Amazon, who are helping us to become a strong reference in the region.”
A sector in continuous growth
Since its inception, Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports has witnessed the enormous expansion of the esports sector, not only as a competitive discipline but also as a booming job market. In 2022, the global esports audience is forecast to reach 532 million and those in emerging regions, which includes MENA, are predicted to continue to rise, going from 83.6 million in 2021 to 95.5 million in 2022. Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports is currently present in more than 20 countries on four continents, with the participation of nearly 2,000 universities and more than 25,000 students. In the last two years it has become one of the top esports leagues worldwide at university level, and has the support of important brands present in this environment.
Particularly in the MENA region, this last season of the Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports competition had representatives from approximately 170 universities, 1,700 teams and more than 8,600 players from these four countries who have been competing since November 2021 to reach these finals. Competitions of this level serve as an entry vehicle for young skilled professionals, gamers, creatives and, in general, innovators in this thriving industry.
The organization of the first edition of this championship in the MENA region has been made possible by the support of companies such as one of the most important publisher, Riot Games, which has collaborated with GGTech in university competitions worldwide from the very beginning, and sponsors who accompanied us through this first-year competition in each market as Samsung, Clear, Doritos andSTC in KSA, as well as Samsung and Lifebuoy in the UAE.
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