The Global Esports Games will make their stop in Dubai, making it the fifth city to host them. GEF has previously stated that Singapore, Istanbul, and Riyadh will serve as 2021 hosts. Subsequently, it was disclosed that China will host the games in 2024, while the United States will host the Global Esports Games in 2026.

The UAE had already been announced as the host country in 2025, with the GEF now confirming Dubai as the actual location.

Dota 2, Street Fighter V, and eFootball PES 2021 contests were held during the opening ceremony of the Global Esports Games in Singapore, with players and teams participating in?their respective regions. The competition’s games?for the upcoming event in Istanbul are yet to be disclosed.

The GEF also organizes the Global Esports Tour, a series of professional esports competitions held in cities around the world throughout the year. The tour recently concluded with a $250,000?CS:GO event,?won by Ninjas in Pyjamas from Sweden.

The iconic announcement came in front of a huge crowd at the GET Dubai with?Abdulla Al Gurg, Vice-President of Emirates Esports, Chair of the GEF Digital Transformation Commission, and Founder of Esports Management Group (EMG), the Secretary-General, Saeed Al Taher, and Emirates Esports Board Members.

Chris Chan, President of the GEF, has?sent a goodwill message to the citizens of Dubai, stating that they are thrilled to be hosting the event in its vicinity.

“Congratulations Dubai and the people of the?United Arab Emirates. The Global Esports Federation is delighted to confirm?Dubai?as the host of our global flagship property – the Global Esports Games – in?December 2025. Once again, the eyes of the world, the energy, and passion of our #worldconnected community will light up?Dubai, the UAE, and the region,” he said.

The GEF’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul J. Foster, said they are delighted to see how far the establishment has come since joining a Strategic Framework Agreement with Emirates Esports to explore possibilities and expand esports in the area.

“We are excited to see the incredible progress since our signing of a Strategic Framework Agreement with Emirates Esports at Expo 2020 Dubai last November, to unlock opportunities and develop esports in the region. The world will once again unite in?Dubai?with the city confirmed to host the Global Esports Games in 2025,” he added.

“The whole world knows that?Dubai?is a great host and offers an epic world-class setting. We can’t wait to see athletes from across the world – standing on center stage at the GEF Arena in?December 2025?– as they compete for the glory of their home country flag, the fans at home and in the stands, and the chance to show the world their many skills, talents, their personal journey and desire to compete.”

On June 10 and 11, the festival will host the official Global Esports Tour (GET) CS:GO LAN competition, which will offer a grand prize pool of $250,000.

“We are delighted to bring the GET CS:GO Tournament to Dubai as part of the EMG 2022 Festival. It is a milestone in Dubai’s journey to becoming a global esports destination, and we are very excited to be hosting such an outstanding line-up of professional esports talents and outstanding gamer entertainment,” said Abdulla Al Gurg, founder of EMG and Vice President of the Emirates Esports Federation.

“This is the first edition of EMG, and we look forward to celebrating and bringing together esports, gaming and anime fans in the UAE annually for years to come.”

The GET Dubai CS:GO Tournament will begin virtually on June 9 with eight top esport teams?from around the world fighting in the quarter finals. Ninjas in Pyjamas, Mouz, NASR ESPORTS, Falcons, Complexity, OG, Tyloo, and Movistar Rider are among the teams competing for a prize pool of US$250,000. The competition will be broadcast live on EMG’s official Twitch and YouTube channels for esports enthusiasts to watch.

EMG 2022 officially opens on June 10 and will welcome tons?of guests?until June 11, allowing everyone to see the high-octane semifinals and grand finals of the GET CS:GO Tournament, as well as a big line-up of gaming entertainment, featuring friendly video game matches across many arenas dedicated to various games, including League of Legends, Valorant, Call of Duty, Fortnite, FIFA, Tekken 7, and multiple VR games. Tickets for the event can?be bought via?Platinumlist.

Cosplayers will be able to compete in EMG’s cosplay competition for a chance to earn a part of the $10,000 prize pool, and maybe even better, all pre-registered cosplayers will receive free entry to EMG 2022.
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Fans will also be treated to performances by Animez, a well-known Japanese pianist, and Akeboshi, a well-known Japanese singer. Meet-and-greets with Animenz, Akeboshi, and the esports teams, as well as some of the most prominent influencers, like MSDossary, TM Faisal, Bo3omar, SirSAN, Ahmed Ben Chaibah, Mark Tube, Kakashi Gaming, Hope Rima, and others, will take place throughout the course of the two-day event.

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?OG made quite impactful roster changes in May when the European esports organisation parted ways with Valdemar “valde” Vangs? and Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen, who got replaced by Adam “NEOFRAG” Zouhar and Maciej “F1KU” Miklas. The roster reshuffle was a response to OG’s disappointing run in the PGL Major Antwerp qualifiers, where Nemanja “nexa” Isakovi? and co. placed ninth-11th.

Although we are not too excited about valde’s departure, we wouldn’t call the recent additions a downgrade. NEOFRAG was one of the top players at SINNERS with a 1.18 average performance rating, while F1KU is an up-and-coming 18-year-old who has led AGO to two ESEA MDL/Premier season titles while averaging a 1.08 rating.

But while we can feel excited about OG’s future, Complexity’s situation looks very bleak. Since the signing of Extra Salt core in January, Complexity have yet to achieve anything noteworthy and have recently crashed out of IEM Dallas in 13th-16th place. Their other tournament runs include a 20th-22nd-place finish at PGL Major Antwerp 2022 and a 17th-20th-place finish at ESL Pro League Season 15.

But even though Complexity will certainly struggle until they find some traction, they should be competitive against the new-look OG. Admittedly, OG field a promising roster, but they did not have enough time to form a strong synergy. So even though OG should win, there’s a good chance we will see a three-map series.

?Movistar Riders made quite a statement last October when they came one win short of qualifying for the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 Legends Stage, but the Spanish CS:GO squad have since not achieved much. Over the next seven months, Movistar Riders have won just two tournaments in ESL Pro League Conference Season 15 and RTP Arena Cup 2022.

They reached the semi-finals at Pinnacle Cup IV in May, but that is hardly something to write home about, considering Movistar received a direct bye into the quarter-finals and only won against Isurus (2-0) before they lost against Team Finest (1-2).

Yet despite their lack of success, Movistar Riders enter this bout as $1.22 favourites, which makes no sense. TYLOO might hail from a weaker region, but they are not nearly as weak as the offered CS:GO esports betting odds suggest.

The Chinese squad placed third at PGL Major Antwerp 2022: Asia-Pacific RMR and finished Pinnacle Cup IV in fifth-eight place after losing to Team Finest. So even though TYLOO seem weaker, their head-to-head price is way overs.

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