Gamers8 esports festival sells out for first days of its second event in Riyadh

RIYADH: Dazzling fireworks cascaded on Boulevard Riyadh City on Friday, signifying the official kickoff of Gamers8: The Land of Heroes, the second outing of the world’s largest esports and gaming festival.

Organized by the Saudi Esports Federation, or SEF, the coming eight weeks will see 15 tournaments from a list of top-12 video games at its purpose-built venue, in addition to global concert lineups every Friday and various entertainment zones and activations.

Omar Batterjee, director of corporate communications and public relations at SEF, told Arab News: “We keep saying we’re going to make this year’s event three times bigger and we mean it in every way. Looking back at how last year catapulted us to getting here, I think Saudi Arabia as a whole had a community of over 21 million gamers. However, I think the industry, the investors, did not realize the magnitude, did not realize how much buying power there is or the market appetite.”

The season has already sold out tickets for the first couple of days, including its education program seats, and expects to welcome upwards of 2.5 million visitors for more than 1,000 events and activations throughout the festival.

With a $45 million total prize pool, tripled from their inaugural event, the festival will host tournaments for Fortnite, Tekken 7 Nations Cup, PUBG Mobile World Invitational, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, Dota 2, StarCraft II, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), Rocket League, PUBG Global Series 2, three FIFAe tournaments, and Street Fighter 6.

The theme, Land of Heroes, highlights its representation of Saudi Arabia as the ultimate destination for gamers across the globe, and also celebrates the event’s inclusivity.

The big date outlines the