MENA Tech (MTE), a company owned by GGTech Entertainment to oversee its MENA operations, has launched the Strike Arabia Championship, the first VALORANT competition to join participants from the GCC, Iraq, Levant, Egypt, and North Africa.
The Strike Arabia Championship is the result of a partnership between MENA Tech and Riot Games, which comprises tournament administration and management, and content creation.
The Strike Arabia Championship is a crucial first step for VALORANT in the region because it is the only tournament in the region that connects directly to larger worldwide contests, allowing local teams an unrivaled opportunity to achieve industry reputation abroad. The MENA teams will battle for a spot in the LAN Grand Final in September and a share of a $50,000 prize money. The winning team will be automatically accepted into the European Last Chance Qualifiers, which will take place in October.
Commenting on the partnership, Daniel Ringland, head of VALORANT Esports in MENA and Europe at RIOT Games said “MENA is a hugely important region for VALORANT with massive amounts of potential. We believe the region will contribute greatly to the overall growth of the esport’s ecosystem and we’re excited to continue this journey alongside MENA’s pro players, teams and most importantly, the fans. We can’t wait to be joined by the winner of the Strike Arabia Championship at the Last Chance Qualifiers in October.”
The Strike Arabia Tournament was made possible by a relationship GGTech has cultivated with the major publishers, which has resulted in international collaboration and aims to encourage and promote the development of an Esports ecosystem in the region, both in the professional and amateur arenas, as well as in the educational field.
A first step will be the launch of the League in the university environment, UNIVERSITY Esports in the main countries of the region, as well as the development of some amateur tournaments.
MTE’s entry into the MENA market is supported by the hiring of Mario Pérez Guerreira as the region’s CEO. Mr. Pérez Guerreira’s new role will include managing relationships with various publications, employing the team responsible for regional activities, soliciting brands/sponsorships, coordinating events, and launching professional and amateur competitions in the region.
“We are excited about these first steps atMENA Tech and with the work that the GGTech group is giving in the region, and above all having Riot Games as the main partner of our activity. It is incredible to be able to collaborate to promote the competitive scene, all while generating quality content for fans in the area. And it is encouraging to see that the main publishers are betting so strongly on the growth and competitive positioning of MENA in the global esports scene. All of this is a great responsibility for our team”.
The primary goal of MENA Tech in the region, led by Mario Pérez Guerreira, in the next months is to establish new competitions in various nations, both in the educational, professional, and amateur arenas, through various publishers.
The company will directly manage both its own and licenced competitions, such as the UNIVERSITY Esports League, which has more than 1,200 universities and 100,000 university students participating, registered in 9 different games, qualifying to participate in the regular phase, and more.
The amateur competitions managed and operated by GGTech have over 200,000 registered players. It should be mentioned that in the professional context, the level of involvement in the activity being supervised has surpassed 6,000 players and 1,000 teams in less than a year.
