The HUAWEI AppGallery Gamers Cup has made a spectacular return to Ras Al Khaimah with the action-packed Esports Carnival 2025 held on 2nd & 3rd May at the Radisson Resort Al Marjan Island. Organized under the guidance of the Emirates Esports Federation (EESF) and in partnership with Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA), the two-day event delivered a spectacular showcase of mobile Esports, reaffirming Ras Al Khaimah’s position at the forefront of the Middle East’s fast-growing Esports scene.

 

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Building on the success of its 2024 edition, this year’s event delivered a bigger and better platform, attracting a record number of gamers, tech enthusiasts, and esports professionals from across the region. A standout addition this year was the collaboration with Jetour, whose sleek and innovative vehicles were on full display at the venue entrance, adding a dynamic lifestyle element to the experience. Additionaly, LikeCard, was a key sponsor of the event, whose generous support was instrumental in powering the tournament’s success. Providing seamless hospitality, the newly opened Rove Al Marjan Island hosted participants, ensuring their comfort and convenience throughout the weekend. Together, these partnerships played a vital role in creating a world-class atmosphere that seamlessly blended competition, innovation, and lifestyle.

The tournament featured a thrilling two days packed with competitions across the most popular two esports games on the main-stage; with PUBG MOBILE on Day 1 and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) on Day 2 with AXE MENA esports team emerging as the champion. The teams participating underwent a challenging two weeks of online qualifiers across a 100+ players competing for the top 4 seed placements for the final event to stand a chance in becoming the champion teams to win the AED 300,000 prize-pool.

In addition to the Main-Stage esports events, gaming booths for the top casual mobile games were set together with their respective prizes, in which passionate players participated in mini-tournament elimination brackets with the top 5 in each booth receiving massive prizes from HUAWEI AppGallery that totaled to an approximate of 600 on-site participants! The game booths included top mobile game titles including, King’s – Candy Crush Saga, Yalla Group’s – Yalla Jackaroo, Gameloft’s – Asphalt Legends Unite, and EA Games’ – Golf Clash.

The tournament formats for the casual games included leaderboards across all booths. The leaderboard for Candy Crush Saga was determined by racing through completing a fixed amount of levels within a time limit with the players that completed the stages in the fastest time with the highest combo score getting the top winning placements. Yalla Jackaroo featured thrilling 2v2 classic Jackaroo matches, where top players competed fiercely, eliminating rival teams one by one to claim the coveted number one spot. Asphalt Legends Unite participants played in an elimination bracket of 4 racers competing against each other in each race with the top place racers of each match competing against each other in the final race that determined their placements. For Golf enthusiasts, the elimination bracket included 1v1 matches where the winner qualified for the next stages after defeating their opponent.

A key highlight of the event was the official launch of the AppGallery Gamers Cup – Emirates Women’s Championship on May 2nd, a joint initiative with the Emirates Esports Federation to promote the representation of female gamers and foster innovation in women’s esports. During the conference, industry leaders, prominent female gamers, and media representatives participated in an engaging discussion titled “Breaking Barriers: Women in Esports”, highlighting the importance of inclusivity in the gaming community. This event also provided an excellent opportunity for one-on-one interviews, Q&A sessions, and extensive media engagement.

Adding a vibrant creative dimension to the event, the GoPaint activation brought together art and gaming in a dynamic fusion of culture and technology, where 60 young artists participated in digital painting sessions using Huawei tablets, and expressed their passion through digital art. Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority said, “We are incredibly proud to continue supporting events that speak to the interests of next-generation visitors and residents. Hosting events like the HUAWEI AppGallery Gamers Cup is a prime example of how we are embracing innovation to diversify our tourism offerings and support the intersection of technology, entertainment, and culture. Esports today are much more than just entertainment, they are a platform for talent development, inclusion, and community engagement.”

EESF General Secretary, Saeed Al Tahir added, “At the Emirates Esports Federation, we are proud to witness the growing impact of esports as a force for innovation, inclusion, and economic opportunity across the UAE. Collaborations like the AppGallery Gamers Cup – Ras Al Khaimah Esports Carnival reflect our commitment to building a vibrant and sustainable esports ecosystem that nurtures talent, celebrates diversity, and positions the UAE as a global hub for digital culture.”

William Hu, Managing Director of Huawei Consumer Business Group for the Middle East and Africa, reflected on the success of the event, stating, “The AppGallery Gamers Cup – Ras Al Khaimah Esports Carnival 2025 aligns perfectly with Ras Al Khaimah’s ambitious vision to lead in Esports and gaming initiatives. We are honored to support Ras Al Khaimah’s ambition by creating a platform where gamers can showcase their skills, driven by the vibrant community spirit, innovation, and enthusiasm that are shaping the region’s Esports future.”

The success of the AppGallery Gamers Cup – Ras Al Khaimah Esports Carnival 2025 highlights HUAWEI AppGallery’s ongoing commitment to nurturing a thriving mobile Esports ecosystem across the region. As a key milestone for the UAE’s Esports sector, the event reflects the accelerating growth and professionalization of the industry throughout the Middle East and Africa.

Dubizzle has launched “Sell with AI”, a tool designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, enabling users to effortlessly post ads once they upload an image. Based on the image, the AI-based solution automatically suggests key details such as category, price, and other attributes, significantly reducing manual input and saving users time and effort. This streamlined process not only accelerates ad posting but also ensures consistency and high-quality standards, enhancing the efficiency of the moderation process and improving the overall marketplace experience on Dubizzle.

Commenting on this launch, Haider Khan, CEO of Dubizzle and Dubizzle Group MENA and Board Member of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, stated, “At Dubizzle, our mission is to continually elevate the experience for our users, keeping innovation at our core by leveraging the use of the latest tech and AI solutions, build products and features that address key pain points. Our new AI-based posting experience not only automates the ad creation process, but it also simplifies the interactions on our platform, setting a new standard for efficiency and quality. This tool allows us to empower our users—whether individuals or businesses—with a seamless, highly intuitive experience, ensuring they can reach their audience faster and more effectively. We are proud to take this next step in our journey to making Dubizzle the most trusted and efficient marketplace in the region.”

Meta has announced the deployment of advanced facial recognition technology across its platforms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The new measures aim to proactively detect and prevent “celeb-bait” scams and offer a faster, more secure method for users to recover compromised accounts.

The facial recognition system is specifically designed to identify and automatically block deceptive advertisements that misuse and alter images of public figures. These fraudulent ads often lure users to scam websites where they are prompted to share personal information or send money. By comparing images in suspicious ads against the profile pictures of celebrities and public figures on Facebook and Instagram, the system can swiftly remove confirmed instances of fraudulent content.

Importantly, Meta emphasises that any facial data generated from ads for this comparison is immediately deleted after the one-time check, regardless of a match, and is not used for any other purpose. Public figures in the MENA region will be automatically enrolled in this protection but retain the option to opt out. This initiative underscores Meta’s commitment to tackling scams that exploit the likeness of well-known individuals to deceive users.

In a parallel effort to enhance account security and recovery, Meta is introducing a video selfie verification feature. This new tool will allow users attempting to regain access to potentially compromised accounts to verify their identity by uploading a short video selfie. The system will then compare this video to the user’s existing profile pictures – a process akin to facial recognition used for device unlocking. This streamlined verification method aims to significantly reduce the time users are locked out of their accounts while providing a more robust security measure against unauthorised access compared to traditional document-based verification.

Similar to the scam detection process, Meta assures users that any facial data utilised for account recovery through the video selfie feature is deleted immediately after the verification process is complete. The data is encrypted during the process and is never retained or repurposed for any other use.

Basma Ammari, Director of Public Policy, MENA at Meta, emphasised the critical need for these measures, stating, “Scams that misuse someone’s image aren’t just misleading; they can be devastating, causing significant emotional and financial harm. We’ve heard directly from public figures and everyday users across the MENA region about the distress these scams cause. That’s why we’re investing in technologies like facial recognition to proactively catch these scams and prevent them from spreading, and enhancing our verification tools to ensure users can quickly regain access to their accounts. These updates are part of our commitment to building a safer and more trustworthy online environment, specifically addressing the growing threat of identity-based scams in the region.”