Riot Games is hosting The Nexus festival, the first official League of Legends event held in the Middle East, as part of Riyadh Season.
Riyadh Season is being organised by the Saudi General Entertainment Authority and The Nexus, which started yesterday (5th Dec.) and includes six competitions with a total prize pool of $2 million, concludes tomorrow (7th Dec.).
The Nexus festival features a 5-v-5 tournament, an influencer tournament, a 1-v-1 tournament, a Teamfight Tactics tournament and a cosplay competition. Over 30,000 attendees are expected, and there will be performances from DJ Mao, Crystal Method and Jason Derulo.
Commenting on the event METAI General Manager at Riot Games, Onur Tamer, said:
“We opened our offices in the region over a year ago. Since then, we have been working on ways to deliver local experiences to our communities and players across the MENA region. The Nexus is our first step in solidifying our presence in the region to support and celebrate our players.
“The launch of the Nexus festival is just one part of our plan to increase our presence in the MENA region. We are also looking at rolling out Arabic language support for all our products starting next year along with a localized version of League of Legends for all our players.”
AYO.NEWS says:
Its great to see esports growing in the Middle East, but holding the event in Saudi Arabia does give rise to some very awkward questions. For a starter, League of Legends is famous for its powerful female champions, dressed in very revealing outfits. How does this square with a country that represses women and sexuality so aggressively?
I mean, really, will the cosplay event in Saudi Arabia feature any Saudi girls dressed as Jinx?
AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.
