Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports has concluded its Winter Split Competition of the 2022-2023 season, with students from over 40 universities participating in the competition for a grand total prize pool of 10,000 dollars. Hundreds of students have taken part every week in a spirit of community and competition to determine the top teams in a range of games including League of Legends, VALORANT and Rocket League.
All teams who participated in this first split accumulated points for the overall scoreboard, and those who will take part in the second split will do the same. As a result of this scoreboard, the teams with the best rankings in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Egypt will qualify for Amazon University Esports Masters MENA Series 2023, a live event where they will compete to become the region’s champion.
The full list of winners
In Riot Games’ League of Legends, the trophy was for team ‘Mystic’, composed of players from Higher Colleges of Technology, University of Wollongong, UAE University, and American University of Sharjah.
The best team in VALORANT’s finals was ‘Zoomers’, made up of students from University of Birmingham, Curtin University Dubai, UAE University, Rochester Institute of Technology Dubai, and Heriot Watt.
In Rocket League, the winning teams were ‘iNightLife’ and ‘Team Finesse’, both from American University of Sharjah, and ‘3 Engineers’ from Heriot-Watt University.
From virtual to on-site
Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports is not just an online gaming competition, it is also committed to reaching today’s youth, by hosting UNIVERSITY Tour, a face-to-face event that aims to introduce young people to the esports ecosystem.
This season, the UNIVERSITY Tour arrives in the UAE for the first time. The Tour visited the SAE Institute in Dubai and the American University in Sharjah during the first split, where students could learn more about the competition. During the second split, the tour will visit more universities across the country.
Next split
Besides continuing to score points for the cumulative scoreboard, which will grant teams places in the Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports Masters, the second split will feature the first Teamfight Tactics championship. This will be the first regional competition for university students on this Riot Games’ individual strategy title, which is gaining popularity around the globe.
Mario Pérez, CEO of MENA Tech, said: “It is a pleasure to have successfully concluded a new Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports split in the UAE. Our commitment to providing high quality competitive environments and supporting students in their educational journey will continue during this year. Consistent improvement of the experience and addition of more participants are our main goals while helping develop the grassroots and community tournaments in the country.”
Esports, a growing environment
With a population of almost 10 million in the UAE, and a significant (and growing) percentage under 25, gaming revenues have skyrocketed as players today have higher purchasing power and hours in gameplay. Online and multiplayer games have the largest number of players.
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.
Supporting the student esports community
Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports is made possible thanks to the support of top-level publishers such as Riot Games and Ubisoft.
Registration for the second split competitions will open soon, and will be announced on Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports social media, and on their website (www.universityesports.ae).
