Young gamers in Dubai are hosting virtual region eSports competitions, sponsored by global brands, to become major players in the multi-billion-dollar industry.
Saad Khan, an Indian expat, according to TRT World, realized there was a huge opportunity in promoting eSports in the region four years ago when he saw people crowding into rapidly sprouting cyber cafes in Dubai. Khan, who has a strong background in technology, established Gamers Hub Media Events to host eSports tournaments in the Middle East and North Africa.
“We are here for the gamers, we are here for our sponsors, and we are here to give the best experience possible,” he said. “There’s a huge sponsorship value that has increased, the number of gamers has increased, and I am also seeing a lot of teams being formed, which was not happening before.”
Khan, who is the CEO and founder of GHME, said the company has partnerships with Intel, Dell, Alienware, Lenovo Legion and Omen by HP. He shared that in 2020, the company landed a deal with German luxury automaker – BMW, which sponsors gaming tournaments in the region.
Ghazi Beydoun, a gaming enthusiast and business development head at GHME, said the future of eSports in the Middle East is promising, with major talent emerging in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE. “We have a lot of players here with a lot of talent that are lacking support, but this support is now coming.”
Moreover, a recent report highlighted the Middle East as a fast-growing gaming market, evolving from casual gaming to virtual reality games and competitive sports. One of the reasons for the increasing interest in eSports is the limited options for watching and playing traditional sports right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase interest in eSports is likely to add to the momentum that was building even before the pandemic – with a good example being the 2019 League of Legends summer league finals at Ulker Arena in Istanbul, which has a capacity of 15,000, sold out in four hours.
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Dubai hosted the first mainstream, large-scale tournament in the region – ESL Pro League invitational competition in 2015, with $250,000 in prize money at stake. For this industry to reach its full potential, governments and other stakeholders will need to work together if the sector is to reach its potential.
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