ABU DHABI: The competitive excitement over who will become the best college esports teams in the MENA region is about to begin. Students from the UAE are ready to represent their country and seek victory at the Grand Finals of the third edition of Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports Masters (Amazon UE Masters), where they will battle against their rivals from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Morocco in two video games, League of Legends and VALORANT.
The esports tournament for college students will take place on July 5 and 6 at Pixoul Gaming, a state-of-the-art gaming complex located in Abu Dhabi. The hosting of this competition is part of a collaboration agreement between the Emirates Esports Federation and MENATech Entertainment (tournament’s organizer) to encourage initiatives linked to the world of video games and technology in the university environment.
Key data of the competition
The UAE will be represented in the upcoming edition of Amazon UE Masters by two collegiate teams, which previously passed the Qualifying and Play-Off phases: “Kamikaze UAE”, in League of Legends, and “PifThePaf UAE”, in VALORANT, will fight for the victorious title.
“Kamikaze UAE” will play against students of Saudi Arabia’s “Team Bismillah KSA” to become champions at the League of Legends Grand Final of Amazon UE Masters.
On the other hand, the competitive format will be different in VALORANT, involving teams from the four countries represented (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Morocco). To be crowned as winners of this year’s edition, “PifThePaf UAE” will have to overcome a final phase, which includes Semifinals and the Grand Final.
The two UAE teams are made up of students from six universities across the country: Higher Colleges of Technology, United Arab Emirates University, Ajman University, University of Wollongong in Dubai, Rochester Institute of Technology of Dubai, and Zayed University.
All the clashes can be watched live on the Amazon UE Masters official Twitch channel (twitch.tv/uemasters).
Video games market forecast in the UAE
Gaming is positioned as one of the fastest growing sectors of the entertainment industry year on year globally. According to the statistics portal Statista, “the video games market in the UAE is set to experience significant growth in the upcoming years, driven by factors such as increasing revenue and expanding user base.”
The same source forecasts that the video games market in the UAE will reach revenues of USD 420.90 million in 2024 and it is estimated to reach USD 492.90 million by 2027. Additionally, the user penetration rate is projected to rise from 14.7% in 2024 to 15.9% by 2027.
Beyond of an esports tournament
Amazon UE Masters, supported by Riot Games and Shahid, is the conclusion of the Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports season, a global program with a presence in 26 countries on four continents and involving more than 100,000 students of 2,000 universities. In the MENA region, this project is present in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Morocco, distributing regionally a total prize pool of USD 50,000 this season.
The main objectives of Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports are to create a sense of community among players from all over the world, to give them the opportunity to compete in high quality international tournaments and to provide avenues for young people to develop a career within the esports world, as well as to find a place to learn and enhance their skills.
