Riot Games and Intel Expand Intel Arabian Cup | A Closer Look

We know for a fact that the three biggest regions in esports are Europe, North America, and Asia (mostly China and South Korea). But, big players from the gaming industry are doing all they can to boost the exposure of esports in developing areas too. One such attempt is the expansion of the Intel Arabian Cup.

A joint venture of Riot Gams and Intel aims to further establish esports in the MENA region (the Middle East and North Africa) with another installment of IAC.

Intel Arabian Cup is the name and it will feature $130,000 in prize money and will be the biggest installment in the series’ history. The two previous iterations showed great success, with the third installment scheduled later this month.

Third Intel Arabian Cup Looks Promising

The third Intel Arabian Cup will feature three separate contests in Riot Games’ most popular esports. Of course, we’re referring to League of Legends, WildRift, and VALORANT.

The organizers are expecting more than 2,000 teams (amateur and professional) to battle their way through the stages and onto the final bracket. We’re in for eight months of thrilling esports action spread across the entire MENA region and three highly popular esports franchises.

Geekay Esports, IAC reigning champions, will be among IAM Prestige participants too. With two regular seasons coupled with grand finals, we’re in for a ton of exciting esports action!

Riot Games Head of Publishing Karim Hachani and Intel’s General Manager Marcus Kennedy, and Intel’s Regional Consumer Director Ali Riza Kucuk announced the third Intel Arabian Cup at a virtual conference earlier today.

“This is another important step to nurture the incredible talent that we have in this region and we look forward to seeing some enthralling matches over the next few months”, Karim Hachani, Head of Publishing MENA at Riot Games

As mentioned earlier, the primary goal of IAC is to boost the MENA region’s esports exposure and nurture talented youngsters ready to make a name for themselves on their first big esports competition. The third IAC iteration will definitely unearth big talents; that I can tell you right away.

Will There be Betting Options for Intel Arabian Cup?

Unfortunately, we won’t see any betting options for the third iteration of IAC… at least when it comes to the first portion of the competition. Once the number of teams drops down to 20ish, once the event reaches its final stages, then we might see some esports bookmakers feature a few basic bets like match-winners and spreads.

Prior to that, though, I reckon we won’t see any legit esports betting action! Don’t let that discourage you as there’s plenty of stuff to bet on in April 2022!