Beyond Hosting: How MENA Esports Is Building a Competitive Identity

Mghamer Editorial Team · 21 September 2026

2 min read

From Riyadh’s Esports World Cup to Falcons and Twisted Minds, explore the milestones shaping MENA esports—and the work needed for lasting growth.

A major tournament can put a city on the esports map. Building a lasting competitive identity takes more: clubs capable of winning, pathways for new players and coverage that gives supporters a reason to follow the scene between finals.

Recent milestones involving Saudi organizations illustrate that wider story. The region’s significance is no longer captured by discussing event hosting alone.

Results that give the story substance

Team Falcons won the 2025 Esports World Cup Club Championship. The organizer’s closing announcement placed Twisted Minds among the top five clubs, underlining the visibility of more than one Saudi organization across the competition.

Twisted Minds also won the event’s 2025 Call of Duty: Warzone tournament. It is a specific competitive achievement that deserves recognition on its own terms, rather than being lost inside general claims about regional growth.

The timeline continued in 2026: ESL’s official account of the IEM Cologne Major identified Team Falcons as first-time Major champions.

These milestones should be described precisely. A Saudi organization’s success is a regional club achievement; it does not mean every player on its international roster is Saudi or Arab. Clear reporting can celebrate the organization without erasing the identities of the people competing for it.

The next measure of progress

Mghamer’s view is that lasting growth should also be judged below the headline level. Can an emerging player find regular competition? Can a promising roster access coaching and stable support? Can Arabic-speaking fans follow a season without depending on scattered translations?

Those questions matter because a region is more than its largest event or richest club. MENA coverage should also make room for smaller tournaments, women’s competition, mobile esports and creators who introduce new audiences to competitive games.

Interviews can help reveal that picture—but only when they involve real reporting. A player explaining their first qualifier, a coach discussing preparation or an organizer describing practical obstacles may tell readers more than another celebratory slogan.

The opportunity is to connect global visibility with everyday participation. Trophies show what leading organizations can achieve. A healthy regional scene gives the next generation a credible route toward competing for them.