Esports events organizers Esports Management Group (EMG) and StarLadder have partnered to bring esports events to Dubai.

Under the tie-up, announced yesterday (September 13), StarLadder will exclusively manage the production of the EMG Festival annual gaming and esports event from 2023 to 2025.

It is hoped that EMG’s experience combined with StarLadder’s expertise will deliver larger events that attract interest from around the world.

The region’s best esports teams and professional gamers will be invited to participate in the tournaments, with StarLadder’s know-how intended to help expand the range of formats and game selection on offer.

StarLadder has 20 years of experience in delivering such events, with a portfolio including the Berlin Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major, Chongqing Dota2 Major, Star Series, PUBG Continental Series in Europe, and the Global Esports Tour Riyadh and the Global Esports Tour Dubai in the Middle East.

The partnership is the latest development in the region since Dubai indicated its intention to establish itself as a center of esports in 2020.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The following year, it was named a host on the 2021 Global Esports Tour in which Starladder was involved.

More recently, it was announced in June that Dubai will host the 2025 edition of the Global Esports Games, the annual multi-title competition contested by the 100+ members of the Global Esports Federation (GEF) industry body.

It will also stage the grand final in the inaugural season of the newly announced eTour competition being run by golf’s DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour).

Darrach Campbell, management director at EMG said: “The esports community has seen large-scale growth on a global level, and we aim to replicate that growth in the Middle East with the support of the Emirates Esports Federation. With the games culture surpassing new boundaries every day in this region, we feel that our partnership with StarLadder is the key element towards developing an all-inclusive esports community in the United Arab Emirates.

“We look forward to having StarLadder on board and creating larger and more frequent tournaments that will bring fans a new level of esports experiences.”

Roman Romantsov, chief executive of StarLadder, added: “The Middle East and United Arab Emirates in particular, is a rapidly developing esports market that has strategic importance for us. We hosted our first event in Dubai back in 2016 and are now glad to strengthen our presence in the region by partnering with such a strong partner as EMG, following our successful Global Esports Tour Dubai event earlier this year.”