The project combines esports competitions and education, offering the possibility for students to have their first professional experiences within the industry.
Riyadh, KSA, June 7, 2023 – Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports, one of the most prestigious university esports competitions in the MENA region organised by MENA Tech Entertainment, has now completed its Spring Split in KSA. More than 1900 players from over 65 universities took part in the competition throughout the Spring term.
List of winners
In Riot Games’ titles, ‘Winners Q’, a team formed by players from University of Jeddah, King Saud University, Taif University, King Abdulaziz University, and from the University of Business and Technology won the League of Legends finals. The champion team in VALORANT was ‘NASR Academy’, with players from the Saudi Esports Academy, Umm Al-Qura University and King Saud University.
The winning teams of this split will represent Saudi Arabia in the Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports Masters MENA Series. This competition will bring together the best university teams from KSA, UAE, Egypt and Morocco. The dates of this competition are still to be confirmed.
Esports has experienced explosive growth and become a significant force in the entertainment industry especially among university students. Esports programs allow students to compete in organised tournaments and leagues. The growth can be attributed to the increasing popularity of video games as a form of entertainment, with many players having a higher purchasing power. Additionally, the rise of streaming services has made it easier for fans to access esports events. According to Newzoo, the games market will exceed $200 billion at the end of 2023. Currently standing at $1.8bn, revenues generated by the gaming industry in the MENA region are expected to reach $5bn by 2025. MENA Tech is leading the charge for esports enthusiasts in the region, organising tournaments and other events to advance the burgeoning industry.
One of the highlights of this season was the collaboration signed between Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports and streaming giant Shahid to grow the esports scene throughout the university community and give students a chance to shine in an international competition.
A core mission of Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports is supporting the grassroots esports industry through real world career development opportunities. For this reason, it offers the opportunity for students who are interested in learning more about the industry to make their first professional experiences. To this end, the organisation opens its doors to learn roles such as broadcasters, commentators, producers, social media, and many other areas of the ecosystem.
Mario Perez, CEO of MENATech commented: “The Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports team is pleased to have successfully completed a new season. This has been a year of great challenges and learning, focused on improving the students’ experience.With a majority of the population in the MENA region under 30 years old, it is our hope that next year’s competition will continue to grow, with more students and universities participating.”
Supporting the student esports community
Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports is made possible thanks to the support of top-level publishers and brands such as Riot Games, Ubisoft, stc play and Shahid.
