Following a succesful inaugural season in 2024, YaLLa Esports, the leading esports media company and tournament organizer in the United Arab Emirates, is thrilled to announce the return of YaLLa Compass in 2025. YaLLa Esports is expanding the tournament’s reach with two tier 1 LAN events planned across the MENA region, offering one of the highest Counter-Strike 2 prize pools at $1.5 million (up from $450k in 2024).
The 2024 YaLLa Compass season amassed worldwide following with a combined viewership across all broadcasts of 50 million views and 5 million+ watch hours. YaLLa Compass transcended geographic boundaries with 30 global broadcasts in 15 languages, catering to a truly global audience.
“The rapid growth of esports in MENA has created a unique opportunity for brands to connect with passionate and engaged audiences,” said Klaus Kajetski, founder and CEO, YaLLa Esports. “We proudly stand as a local company that delivered an esports event of this scale meeting international standards. By collaborating with both local and global brands, we reached mutual goals and made a significant impact for all our stakeholders, not only in the gaming industry but also across local startups, tech talents and pop culture enthusiasts.”
The first LAN event drew a massive crowd of 2,000+ visitors, creating an electrifying atmosphere. The competition featured some of the world’s top Counter-Strike 2 athletes, including 12 global elite teams and a local Abu Dhabi team- Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Open qualifiers for Compass begin on July 29th, with two additional open qualifiers planned for Q4 2024 and Q1 2025. Teams will finally compete in a closed qualifier stage in the leadup to the first LAN event which will be held at prominent MENA locations in Q2 2025.
