BLAST Premier World Final headed to Abu Dhabi as part of 3-year deal with ADGaming

BLAST have announced that the 2022 BLAST Premier World Final will take place in Abu Dhabi. They have also revealed a three-year partnership with ADGaming, an initiative funded by the Abu Dhabi government to help create an “esports and gaming ecosystem” in the region. 

On June 30, CS:GO tournament operators BLAST announced a new partnership with ADGaming, an initiative funded and overseen by the Abu Dhabi government in order to cultivate esports and gaming culture within the region.

The deal will see BLAST’s 2022 World Finals take place in Abu Dhabi from December 14-18, in the Etihad Arena on Yas Island. The finals will be the first-ever esports event to take place at the arena, which has previously hosted multiple UFC events and the 2021 World Swimming Championship. It will host eight of the world’s best CS:GO teams, qualified from the Spring/Fall Seasons and the top four teams from the Race to the World Final Leaderboard.

The event will have a live audience, with the arena’s maximum seating capacity sitting at 18,000 – ticket prices have not yet been announced.

Partnership with ADGaming

With the partnership between BLAST and ADGaming, BLAST have shown a “deep trust in the growth and untapped potential that Abu Dhabi has to offer”, which will likely see them hold multiple events in the region throughout the duration of the partnership.

BLAST Managing Director Charlotte Kenny explained that the tournament operator was “committed to bringing our best-in-class shows to all corners of the globe” and were “proud to be working with AD Gaming to provide the BLAST Premier World Final in Abu Dhabi.” ADGaming have previously formed partnerships with multiple game developers, including Ubisoft and After Work Games, providing a “support system” for esports and gaming in the region.

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It’s not clear yet what the full extent of the partnership will look like. This isn’t ADGaming’s first partnership in the esports space – they currently work with tournament organizer EStars, esports organization Nigma Galaxy, and esports agency Zawaya Gaming.