Tuesday March 19th, 2024
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Red Bull Partners with Gamers Lounge for Red Bull ProSeed League of Legends Tournament

The prize includes EGP 25,000 and the services of a professional team coach provided by Red Bull.

Staff Writer

While physical sports falter in the time of quarantines and curfew, the competitive online gaming scene finds an opportunity to thrive. Gamers Lounge have partnered up with Red Bull to organize the Red Bull ProSeed League of Legends tournament, where nearly 300 teams have registered for a chance to win EGP 25,000 and a bigger, more unique prize - a professional coach to help elevate the winning team to international competitive standards.

"What we wanted to do with Red Bull is to create this online League of Legends tournament with a prize unlike any other," Hashem Alborno, co-founder of Gamers Lounge, told CairoScene. "Any organization can offer cash rewards, but what else can you do to support the players?"

Gamers Lounge was established in 2014, and since then they've made great strides in changing the perception of pro-gaming in Egypt and the MENA region with their annual Esports Summits and regular competitions. "The Middle East is an untapped region in e-sports and recently things have blown up," Alborno continued. "Players in Egypt and around the region have gotten qualifying spots in tournaments, and we've gotten brands paying attention to Egypt."

One of these brands is Red Bull, which - alongside its pedigree in physical sports - has propped up e-sports all over the world. Their ProSeed tournament is named after its purpose: to help foster growth in the local pro-gaming scene. While the cash prize is negligible even when compared to other recent regional competitions - a major League of Legends contest in Saudi Arabia earlier this year had a USD 2 million prize pool - the real prize is the coach.

"The e-sports scene is growing day by day and having a sponsor like Red Bull to provide a coach makes a huge difference," Alborno said. "Gaming requires skill and dedication, just like becoming a professional in any other game."

The qualifying rounds begin today, April 15th, at noon to see which of the 299 teams can become part of the 32 participants in the ProSeed Tournament starting April 17th. Tune in to Gamers Lounge's YouTube channel to catch a piece of the action.