Team Nigma has partnered with Etisalat and Swyp to bring the MENA region its biggest Dota 2 tournament: $10,000 is up for grabs, and the winner of the tournament will get to play Nigma in a show match.
MENA is an acronym for the Middle East and North African regions, corresponding with the Greater Middle East region. The tournament is open to Arabs only, and registration is completely free. Registration is open until June 6 with up to 256 slots.
The total prize pool of $10,000 will be split between the top three teams, with the first, second, and third receiving $5,000, $3,000, and $2,000 respectively.
The competition runs from June 7 to 15, with the Nigma exhibition match taking place on the final day of the event.
These tournaments will hopefully help uncover more talent in more obscure regions. While the MENA region is relatively small, several powerhouse players hail from the region. Nigma’s own Miracle- and GH were born in Jordan and Lebanon respectively, while captain KuroKy and w33 have Arab ties.
Other high-profile players from the region include Secret’s support player YapzOr from Jordan, and Evil Geniuses’ captain Fly from Israel.
With Nigma being a player-owned organization, KuroKy could be following in OG’s footsteps in recruiting lesser-known talent. OG recently acquired a development squad named OG.Seed, with the intent to develop players from their own region and to see them improve.
With the stipulated geographic restrictions laid down by the organizers, The International 2019 runners-up could be keeping their eyes open for emerging MENA talent during the tournament.
