Video game fanatics looking to turn professional are being snapped up by an eSports company based in the UAE.
Galaxy Racer eSports has provided a platform for gamers to compete in tournaments and has signed eight international and local teams so far.
The opportunity has helped gamers pursue eSports as a profession, even offering a fixed salary along with a percentage of prizes earned from tournaments.
Mohammed Abdulaziz Almatrooshi, 19, is an Emirati gamer who was signed by the firm to play a battle arena game League of Legends.
The challenges that I faced were with my family. They took my computer to stop me playing for weeks
"I used to go to internet cafes everyday with my friends after school just to play League of Legends," Mr Almatrooshi, from Abu Dhabi, told The National.
He has been gaming since he was nine-years-old, but said he started taking it more seriously after he noticed his performance improve in tournaments.
In May, he was signed by Galaxy Racer because of his high game ranking.
Shortly after, his team won the Intel Arabian Cup UAE tournament and qualified to the regional stages, where they will have a chance to prove they are the Middle East's best League of Legends team.
“The challenges that I faced were with my family,” said Mr Almatrooshi.
“They didn’t agree with the idea that I play video games. I was skipping a lot of classes for it. They took my computer to stop me playing for weeks. I tried to convince them to give me a chance to show them that eSports was a big thing.”
Once his team won the tournament with a prize of Dh18,000, his family started showing their support for his new profession.
eSports is estimated to be a $1 billion industry, with some players who earn millions in streaming their games online on platforms such as Twitch, as well as competing professionally.
Some international tournaments have millions of dollars as prizes. In 2019, Kyle Giersdorf, 16, won $3 million in a Fortnite competition.
The Middle East’s industry is also rapidly growing and some tournaments offer prizes of up to Dh1 million.
Ksenia Klyuenkova, 29, is a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player based in Russia. Galaxy Racer recently signed her as member of a all-girl team.
Being a pro player is extremely demanding and stressful. An ability to cope with everything that comes with the career is a crucial factor
"In the beginning it was just a hobby for me," she said. "I played Counter-Strike with friends after school. Gradually, I got better and was asked to join a female team in Russia."
In 2015, Ms Klyuenkova quit her job to pursue her hobby as a full-time profession. She was with another international team at the time.
Now, with Galaxy Racer, she is part of a team that has five women from four different countries.
They won the GirlGamer Festival that took place in Dubai in February and came second at the Dreamback Showdown in June.
But there were challenges she had to face as a female gamer.
“It’s pretty hard to resist and ignore all the negative comments that girls get from other players throughout different gaming platforms," said Ms Klyuenkova.
“Verbal abuse isn’t uncommon online once people figure out it’s a girl playing. There’s also a huge misconception that when a girl receives a certain rank in the game, she’s not getting it on her own and has someone helping her.”
Mia Stellberg, a sports psychologist based in Finland, was hired to work with Galazy Racer's gamers on mental well-being, performance, team spirit and managing pressure.
"Some players thrive under pressure and some underachieve massively," said Ms Stellberg.
"Overall being a pro player is extremely demanding and stressful. An ability to cope with everything that comes with the career is a crucial factor when we are analysing exceptional players.
"Gladly, one can learn to cope with that and grow stronger under good guidance and support. Good balanced personality, maturity and resilience is something I’m trying to teach and reach with my clients."
Galaxy Racer is trying to grow its reach in the Arab world and has hired a Jordanian social media influencer Naji Elqaq to live stream and handle gaming content.
It is estimated that more than 32 million people globally watch live streams of online games.
Paul Roy, chief executive of the organisation, said their goal was to provide gamers with facilities, a platform and bring tournaments here.
“Around the same time last year when we launched Galaxy Racer, I promised that we would build a world-class organisation that is headquartered in Dubai and take it all over the world,” he said.
“And I feel we’ve done quite a bit of that. We’ve got players in 21 countries, eight teams around the world, the very best of coaching, psychologists and all of the support staff.
“We’ve extended that to our players in the Middle East, as well. Both the male and female teams are playing with the best international counterparts."
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
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The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed PDK
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 820Nm
Price: Dh683,200
On sale: now
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
List of alleged parties
May 15 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at
least 17 staff members
May 20 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'bring your own booze'
party
Nov 27 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary
Gavin Williamson
Dec 13 2020: PM and Carrie throw a flat party
Dec 14 2020: London mayor candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative
Party headquarters
Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Revival
Eminem
Interscope
Company%20Profile
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?
Some facts about bees:
The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer
The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days
A queen bee lives for 3-5 years
This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony
About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive
Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.
Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen
Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids
Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments
Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive, protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts
Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain
Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities
The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes
Is beekeeping dangerous?
As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.
“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”
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SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELong-range%20dual%20motor%20with%20400V%20battery%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E360kW%20%2F%20483bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E840Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20touring%20range%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20628km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E0-100km%2Fh%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.7sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20210kph%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh360%2C000%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeptember%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
Cricket World Cup League Two
Teams
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
Fixtures
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Oman
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
When is VAR used?
• Goals
• Penalty decisions
• Direct red-card incidents
• Mistaken identity
Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
