PUBG MOBILE has announced that Team Falcons has become the new champion team in the latest 2022 PUBG MOBILE Star Challenge Arabia (2022 PMSC Arabia) powered by KFC with 197 total points. Topping the overall leaderboard, Team Falcons scored 1 point higher than their closest competitor and earned a total of $15,000.

The first runner-up, Geekay Esports had a great performance in the last two days of the championship managing to score 196 total points and secure their second place in 2022 PMSC Arabia powered by KFC, Geekay Esports won a prize total of $10,000. Titan Gaming maintained consistency in their play throughout the competition after fierce competition during the championship and scored 173 points. Landing 3rd place in the championship, the team won a total of $5,000 USD.

Geekay Esports player, Gaith managed to score the highest number of eliminations, a total of 33, making him the MVP among his competitors. Gaith has earned a total of $1,000 as the championship’s MVP. “The 2022 PUBG MOBILE Star Challenge Arabia (2022 PMSC Arabia) powered by KFC, one of the most highly anticipated events in the competitive PUBG MOBILE scene, concluded on 25th December after four days of intense and action-packed matches,” the company claimed.

G2 Esports was crowned champions of the BLAST Premier World Final as the largest and most high-profile Counter-Strike esports tournament to be held in the Middle East came to an end at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena. In front of a vibrant crowd that included passionate esports and gaming fans and those witnessing an esports event for the first time, G2 Esports rose to the occasion, defeating Team Liquid in the final of the prestigious global, season-ending tournament.

The five-day tournament, staged in the UAE capital following a landmark three-year partnership between BLAST and AD Gaming, a government initiative pioneering gaming and esports in Abu Dhabi, attracted eight of the world’s best esports organisations and had a prize pool of $1 million. The event also included an on-stage show match for some of the best local teams including Team Falcons and Nasr Esports as Abu Dhabi raised the bar for esports in the Middle East. It was a landmark moment as it was the first time an elite global tournament was held in Abu Dhabi with the staging of the BLAST Premier World Final.

In the final, Justin Savage (jks) gave a powerhouse performance to lead the G2 team to victory in the thrilling encounter, ending the year as Counter-Strike World champions. He said, “It’s a great feeling to win the World Final. We were all in a positive mindset this week and everyone played out of their minds and are happy to have won. The crowd was really good today and the Etihad Arena was really cool. All the fans really made a lot of noise which created a vibrant atmosphere for this match.”

Besides the matches on the main stage, the event also attracted some of the leading gaming stars, influencers, and content creators in the Middle East’s gaming landscape. Saudi Arabia’s top content creator BanderitaX, who has a following of 12 million, and Galaxy Racer’s Fortnite players “Souriano” and “g1ntl” were among those present at the tournament and were joined by other leading players in the region where they signed autographs and took pictures with the fans.

As part of BLAST’s ongoing efforts to help accelerate the growth of the esports ecosystem in the region and attract new audiences, a Gaming Fan Zone was set up to provide an opportunity for spectators to understand more about the thriving gaming industry that is expected to grow to $5 billion by 2025 in the MENA region. It included exhibitors from technology and educational organisations, and regional teams including Team Falcons, Nasr Esports and Nigma Galaxy to showcase the benefits of gaming and esports and the opportunities it creates.

Charlotte Kenny, Managing Director of BLAST Premier, said, “The BLAST Premier World Final has established itself as one of the most prestigious tournaments on the esports calendar and by staging it for the first time in Abu Dhabi, we delivered a spectacle that showcased the very best of esports. It was amazing to see so many people of different ages witness the pinnacle of gaming with the world’s best players in action, while also gaining an insight into how exciting the industry is thanks to the expertise of our collaborations with education and gaming partners at the Gaming Fan Zone. There’s no doubt that there’s a bright future for esports, especially in this region. We hope people have been inspired by what they’ve seen at the Etihad Arena and take an interest in gaming or pursue a career in this exciting and thriving industry.”

The event aligned with AD Gaming’s wider strategy and commitment to aggregate Abu Dhabi’s drive to build a thriving gaming and esports ecosystem and continue to promote the city as a global gaming hub. James Hartt, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Business Development at AD Gaming, said, “The BLAST Premier World Final delivered live, arena scale, esports excitement on a level not seen before in the region. The passionate gaming community and esports fans were left blown away by the scale of production and intense competition. Congratulations to the entire BLAST team for putting on such a spectacle and a big thank you goes to the fans, teams, and organisers for making this event such an outstanding success.”

Charlotte Kenny, the Managing Director of BLAST, speaks about the upcoming BLAST Premier World Final 2022

How big is the esports community in the Middle East and Africa region?
Globally, gaming and esports are going from strength to strength with the industry enjoying continued growth, and this year alone over 261 million people will consume esports content with that number expected to grow to over 218 million in 2025. We’re also seeing this impressive growth mirrored in the Middle East and the UAE, which is one of the fastest-growing esports and gaming markets in the world.

According to a report in 2022, the UAE topped a global survey with 90 percent of adults playing video games and 23 percent being frequent gamers. There is no doubt there is currently an active and passionate community of gamers in the Middle East, which will only grow in the years to come as more premium esports and gaming events are hosted in the region.

What prompted the organisers to conduct BLAST Premier in the UAE?
The overarching ambition with BLAST Premier is to take our events to all parts of the world while uniting fans through their shared love of CS:GO – having hosted tournaments in a number of iconic cities including the likes of London and Copenhagen to Miami and Sao Paulo. Abu Dhabi makes for the ideal location to host this year’s World Final, with a passionate and constantly growing esports community and a world-leading venue in the Etihad Arena. We are looking forward to ending the year in style with the first-ever major esports event to be hosted in the Middle East.

What according to you is missing in terms of eSports participation of local/regional teams when compared with the participation in global editions of your events?
Surrounding support and development structures for talent and players is an area that needs further focus and resources, this can be in the form of amateur leagues, collegiate activities, academy programmes, and other pathways for players to become professionals. This stronger grassroots infrastructure and the increased accessibility will only help drive sustainability and long-term success for esports regionally and internationally.

In which areas can the regional eSports teams and key stakeholders improve?
The more regional opportunities we can build, the greater the number of opportunities for players and talent to develop and showcase their skills the better. Regional esports play a key role in community engagement and cohesiveness – they bring people together and can be easier to identify and relate to, which inspires more people to participate and become involved.

Stakeholders, such as our partner AD Gaming are investing heavily in building a sustainable ecosystem. Through these efforts, we are confident the BLAST Premier World Final will be a catalyst for creating more opportunities in the UAE and the wider Middle East.

What sort of commitment do the organisers of BLAST Premier have to the regional market? Can we expect more regional-focused events in the months to come?
BLAST Premier is open to grassroots and amateur teams via our qualifier series, giving teams from all over the world, no matter how big or small, a chance to compete for a spot in regional events and face off against the world’s best teams. We’ve hosted two qualifiers in the Middle East in the past – giving local teams and talent a chance to play in front of a global audience.

The 2022 Fall Season spanned four continents and was open to over 100 countries and thousands of amateur teams, where eight spots were made available in the Fall Showdown that further led into the Fall and World Final. This tournament structure allows every team in the CS:GO circuit to dream big and imagine their names alongside the biggest names in the game.