MENATech is all set to kick off the first edition of the University Esports MENA. A competition that will pit the best university teams from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Morocco against each other. For a prize pool of more than $25,000.
This competition is being organized with the support of the SAFEIS (Saudi Esports Federation) and BME Global, in KSA and Egypt. And the blessing of two of the biggest game publishers in the world, Riot Games, and Epic Games.
It was first started by MenaTech’s parent company, GGTech. As a local gaming tournament for college students in Spain. Over time, this competition has evolved to cover more than 1200 universities from all over the world. Including countries like France, Italy, Germany, Poland, United Kingdom, Turkey, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia, among others.
Today, more than 200,000 students participate in this competition. And this number is only expected to grow as the inclusion of MENA will make this a competition that spans three continents and more than 25 countries. Competing teams can pick between multiple AAA titles to fight in, from League of Legends and VALORANT, to the fan-favourite, Fortnite.
The audience for this kind of tournament has grown over time as well. With esports players alone accounting for up to 2.5 billion viewers, along with another 550 million that love to watch esports but aren’t dedicated players themselves. These numbers are only expected to grow, at an annual rate of more than 9.8%. Thanks to tournaments like this, which help esports players prove their worth, and actually get some monetary recognition for their skills.
You too can try to become the next big sensation in esports. Just grab a bunch of your friends and start playing some video games. Who knows, your team might just be the defending champions when next year’s tournament rolls by.