How MENA changed esports: from a place in the bracket to a global stage

Mghamer Editorial Team · 8 October 2026

4 min read

RLCS expansion, Falcons’ London run, Riyadh Masters and the first Esports World Cup reveal different kinds of regional influence.

What makes a region influential in esports? A champion is one answer. A qualification route, a destination tournament and an organisation competing across games are others. MENA’s recent history contains all of these, and they should not be confused with one another.

The following milestones trace a selected period from 2021 to 2024. This is not the beginning of gaming in the region, nor a complete history of every MENA country. It is a look at moments that made its relationship with international competition easier to see.

2021: a route into RLCS becomes official

In September 2021, Rocket League announced that its 2021–22 Championship Series would expand to include the Middle East and North Africa, alongside two Asia-Pacific regions. MENA gained a defined place in the competition’s structure.

That change matters independently of any subsequent trophy. A regional route gives players a concrete competitive target and spectators a season to follow. In our assessment, access is infrastructure: talent cannot demonstrate its level internationally if the tournament system offers no workable path to that stage.

2022: Falcons reaches the London final

Team Falcons finished runner-up at the 2022 RLCS Spring Major in London, with Moist Esports taking the title. The official grand-final broadcast remains a useful record of a MENA representative competing at the decisive stage of a global event.

It was not a championship victory, and describing it as one would miss why the actual result mattered. Reaching that final supplied evidence that regional representation could translate into a deep international run. Access opened the door; performance made the case for taking the region seriously.

2023: Riyadh becomes the destination of a Dota circuit

ESL FACEIT Group’s March 2023 announcement connected DreamLeague seasons to Riyadh Masters at Gamers8, advertising a $15 million prize pool for the Riyadh event. Its significance was structural as well as financial: results elsewhere fed into a major competition held in Saudi Arabia.

Our interpretation is that this changed the region’s role in that circuit. It was a destination around which international competitors could plan, rather than only a source of players travelling abroad. Hosting can create space for local spectators and event workers, although an event announcement alone does not establish how widely those benefits were distributed.

2024: clubs compete across games at the first EWC

The Esports World Cup Foundation’s account of the inaugural event in Riyadh named Team Falcons its first Club Champion and awarded the organisation $7 million. The Club Championship rewarded performance across games; it was distinct from winning every individual tournament.

That distinction is central to understanding the event’s impact. A multi-game contest gives spectators a reason to follow an organisation beyond their favourite title. It also creates incentives for clubs to think about several rosters and disciplines together. Whether a viewer prefers that model is a separate question from understanding what it rewards.

A regional club is not the same as a national team

Falcons also won ESL One Birmingham in April 2024, beating BetBoom Team 3–0 in the Dota 2 final, according to ESL. That result happened in England, illustrating how a region-linked organisation can influence competition outside its home market.

Club identity, player nationality and event location answer different questions. International rosters are common in esports. A Saudi organisation’s success should not automatically be described as a Saudi national-team victory, just as a tournament in Riyadh is not automatically a title won by regional players.

What would make the next chapter lasting?

The strongest legacy would connect these layers: places to compete, chances for local talent to progress, and organisations and events that give people reasons to stay involved. A large prize fund cannot, by itself, demonstrate that the amateur-to-professional route is healthy.

For Mghamer, the questions worth following are practical. Can aspiring players enter meaningful competitions? Can coaches, organisers and Arabic-language storytellers build experience? Do opportunities extend across the region rather than clustering around its most visible events?

Players showed what was possible. Qualification systems, clubs and hosts changed where and how those possibilities could be tested. MENA’s impact is most accurately understood as the interaction between them.

Historical feature researched October 8, 2026. Dates and results refer to the editions identified; assessments of significance are editorial analysis.