EMG unveils new tournament series to boost esports in MENA region

Dubai-based management company Esports Management Group (EMG) has unveiled the EMG League in an attempt to bring more esports opportunities to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The EMG League will consist of three series: EMG Open, EMG Pro and the EMG Legends Cup.

The EMG Open series will provide an entry point for teams of all levels to compete in the league. It will be held separately in two different sub-regions: EMG Open Levant & North Africa and EMG Open GCC & Iraq.

Unlike the previous series, EMG Pro will have an invitation-only format with select winners of the Open Series qualifying to compete in this phase. Players will need to collect points to qualify for the final, which will ultimately lead them to the EMG Legends Cup. The Pro Series will also be split into two sub-regions: EMG Pro Levant & North Africa and EMG Pro GCC & Iraq.

Last but not least, the EMG Legends Cup will consist of a final tournament featuring the best eight teams of the season. The final showdown will be hosted at the annual EMG Esports Festival in Dubai. The event’s prize pool has not yet been revealed.

EMG has already announced an EMG Pro tournament for regional PUBG Mobile teams, though it’s not clear whether the company will expand its league to other titles. The PUBG Mobile tournament will see 32 teams from the region battle it out for a total prize pool of $8,000.

Moreover, gaming developers KRAFTON and Lightspeed Studios, as well as Tencent-owned games publisher Level Infinite have been unveiled as sponsors of the PUBG Mobile event.

Earlier this year, EMG struck a deal with tournament organiser StarLadder, which became the exclusive manager of EMG’s future events for 2023 to 2025. However, it’s unsure whether StarLadder will also manage the EMG League events.

As part of the partnership, EMG and StarLadder also teamed up with GRID Esports which provided its data services for the Global Esports Tour Dubai 2022.