RIYADH : Gamers8: The Land of Heroes, the biggest gaming and esports festival worldwide, today unveiled the 15 elite tournaments from 12 top titles taking place in Riyadh this summer.
With a $45 million total prize pool, Gamers8: The Land of Heroes will host: 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.
Organized by the Saudi Esports Federation, the Gamers8 action, which lasts for eight entertainment-packed weeks, begins on July 6 at the purpose-built esports venue at Boulevard Riyadh City.
The big date blasts off a superb summer in Riyadh featuring the biggest esports competitions, live concerts from star local, regional, and international names, as well as festivals, shows, community gaming, education platforms, and fun-filled activities for all ages.
HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, Chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation, said: “The gaming and esports titles announced today fully reflect Gamers8: The Land of Heroes’ status as the biggest gaming and esports festival worldwide. Saudi Arabia has a quest to become a global hub for gaming and esports and Gamers8: The Land of Heroes will put the Kingdom right at the center of our industry’s map this summer. We are delighted to be presenting such a prestigious schedule of tournaments and know that fans – be they in Saudi Arabia, across the region or anywhere worldwide – will be as eagerly awaiting them as much as all of us.”
Dates and prize pools for each tournament are as follows:
*Fortnite, 6-9 July, $2 million
*Tekken 7 Nations Cup, 6- 9 July, $1 million
*FIFAe Club World Cup 2023, 6-9 July, $1 million
*FIFAe Nations Cup 2023 – 11-14 July, $1 million
*FIFAe World Cup 2023 finals – 16-19 July, $1m million
*PUBG Mobile World Invitational, 11-16 July, $3 million
*Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Siege, 13-16 July, $2 million
*Dota 2, 17-30 July, $15 million
*PUBG Global Series 2, 1-20 August, $2 million
*StarCraft II, August 3-6, $500,000
*Street Fighter 6 – 10-13 August, $1 million
*Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), 14-20 August, $1 million
*Rocket League, 21-27 August, $2 million
Faisal bin Homran, Director of Esports at the Saudi Esports Federation, said: “When we conceptualized Gamers8: The Land of Heroes our aim was to improve on last year’s success as much as we possibly could, and we are delighted at the range of titles announced today.
“As well as crafting our own ideas, we listened to the fans and what they wanted to see and believe there really is something for everyone on our schedule. Be it multiplayer online battle arena games, tactical shooter games, strategic titles, old school fighter and video arcade games, sports, and much more, Gamers8: The Land of Heroes is going to be the destination this summer.”
Full details of live concerts and other activities and attractions appearing at Gamers8: The Land of Heroes will be released in due course. Like last year, Gamers8 will conclude with the Next World Forum, an esports and gaming forum held at the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Center from August 30-31 that brings together sector leaders and experts from around the world.
Just some of the highlights from last year’s Gamers8 include:
*1.4 million visitors
*132 million people watching the elite competitions
*392 professional players
*113 international professional teams
*61 nationalities represented
*Eight nights of music at the NXTLVL Arena at Boulevard Riyadh City throughout the summer that brought in an incredible total of 74,670 ticketholders, who enjoyed performances from 19 global artists, 10 Arab artists, and 17 local Saudi artists
