Esports conglomerate ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has announced the opening of a broadcast hub in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The broadcast hub will provide esports broadcasts in Arabic to help with EFG’s recent expansion into the Middle East and North Africa region.
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The first Arabic broadcast that the new hub will produce has already occurred. The facility was used for the Overwatch Champions Series DreamHack Dallas Major from May 31st to June 2nd. The event is part of Blizzard Entertainment and EFG’s long-term collaboration and saw eight teams, including Twisted Minds from Saudi Arabia, compete for the OWCS title and a spot in the Esports World Cup. Japanese esports organisation Crazy Raccoon won the event by beating Team Falcons in the finals.
Other titles that the EFG broadcast hub will produce in Arabic include Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Counter-Strike and the various mobile titles featured in EFG’s Snapdragon Pro Series.
This is not the first expansion into the region that EFG has done. The company is an operator of the Esports World Cup, a global partner of Qiddiya Esports & Gaming district and a part of Savvy Games Group.
ESL and FACEIT merged together in 2022 after being acquired by Saudi Arabian government-backed Savvy Games Group. The esports goliath operates in a wide variety of esports titles from running the Intel Extreme Masters series in CS2 to the Snapdragon series which includes Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Call of Duty Mobile, BGMI and more.
Franck Guignery, SVP, Middle East and Africa, ESL FACEIT Group, commented on the news: “Saudi Arabia is one of the fastest-growing esports markets in the world with a thriving gaming fanbase, and the national initiatives like Vision 2030 showcase the country’s desire to fuel not only local gaming growth but contribute to the industry’s international success.
“We are thrilled to bring our premier esports programming to the region and to help its passionate players, fans, and creators build deeper connections with the global community of their favourite brands and titles, and most importantly, with each other.”
