Saudi Esports Federation Welcomes Razer Back to Gamers8

Razer, the world’s leading lifestyle brand for gamers, will be the gaming gear partner at “Gamers8: The Land of Heroes”. (SPA)
Razer, the world’s leading lifestyle brand for gamers, will be the gaming gear partner at “Gamers8: The Land of Heroes”. (SPA)
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Saudi Esports Federation Welcomes Razer Back to Gamers8

Razer, the world’s leading lifestyle brand for gamers, will be the gaming gear partner at “Gamers8: The Land of Heroes”. (SPA)
Razer, the world’s leading lifestyle brand for gamers, will be the gaming gear partner at “Gamers8: The Land of Heroes”. (SPA)

The Saudi Esports Federation (SEF) announced on Tuesday that Razer, the world’s leading lifestyle brand for gamers, is to be the gaming gear partner at “Gamers8: The Land of Heroes”, the biggest gaming and esports festival worldwide.

This is the second consecutive year that SEF and Razer have collaborated for Gamers8, following the successful partnership last summer.

Organized by SEF, “Gamers8: The Land of Heroes” runs for eight weeks from July 6 and features elite esports tournaments at the purpose-built venue at Boulevard Riyadh City, as well as live concerts and numerous activities and attractions.

Razer will provide premium hardware from their range of gaming peripherals for VIPs and influencers during Gamers8, as well as having the products showcased during the esports competitions together with the company’s well-known logo on the official broadcast.

Just like last year, a unique Gamers8 x Razer collection will be sold exclusively on-site during the festival, with items from the company’s signature collection also available for purchase.

In addition, SEF and Razer will organize raffles for “Gamers8: The Land of Heroes” attendees, and fans on social media, to win some exclusive gaming gear.

Ahmed Albishri, Deputy CEO at the Saudi Esports Federation, said: “Good partnerships produce great things together, and we are delighted to welcome back Razer as gaming gear partner for another incredible eight-week spell of Gamers8 action.”

“‘Gamers8: The Land of Heroes’ is the destination for gamers this summer and we thank Razer for once again pledging their support to Saudi Arabia’s booming gaming and esports industry,” he added.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Gamers8 once again for this opportunity,” said Flo Gutierrez, Global Esports Director at Razer. "Razer is dedicated to enhancing the gaming experience for gamers worldwide and partnering with the Saudi Esports Foundation for Gamers8 is a demonstration of our commitment to supporting and celebrating the gaming community worldwide. We look forward to another amazing edition of Gamers8.”

“Gamers8: The Land of Heroes” has a prize pool of $45 million – triple that of Gamers8 last year. Full details of all the elite titles appearing at Gamers8 this summer will be released soon.

The festival concludes with the Next World Forum, a gaming and esports forum held at the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Center on August 30-31, that brings together sector leaders and experts from around the world.



Nokia Joins Ericsson in Seeing Signs of Recovery after Mixed Results

FILE PHOTO: A Nokia logo is seen at company's headquarters in Espoo, Finland, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
FILE PHOTO: A Nokia logo is seen at company's headquarters in Espoo, Finland, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
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Nokia Joins Ericsson in Seeing Signs of Recovery after Mixed Results

FILE PHOTO: A Nokia logo is seen at company's headquarters in Espoo, Finland, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
FILE PHOTO: A Nokia logo is seen at company's headquarters in Espoo, Finland, May 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

Finnish telecom equipment supplier Nokia on Thursday reported a 9% rise in third-quarter operating profit on cost cuts, and echoed rival Ericsson in seeing demand recovery in some areas.
However, quarterly net sales fell 8% to 4.33 billion euros ($4.70 billion), missing estimates of 4.76 billion euros due mainly to lower sales to India. That sent its shares down 3%, Reuters said.
Both Nokia and Ericsson said North America has started to show signs of growth after years of weakness, but Nokia's market share in the region had dropped after losing contracts with Verizon and AT&T over the years.
"We have seen a really bad cycle... Now that decline is over and it is starting to gradually recover, which is good, but it (telecom) will never be a huge growth market," CEO Pekka Lundmark said in an interview.
He cautioned that growth was happening more slowly than earlier expected.
"North America has started to show pretty good signs, and we had strong growth in Q3 in network infrastructure," Lundmark said.
Nokia's total addressable market in telecom stands at around $84 billion.
To look for growth, Nokia has been targeting the data center and defense sectors, splurging $2.3 billion to buy US optical networking gear maker Infinera in June to target data center operators.
"That's where the growth will come from, and that growth is starting already," Lundmark said.
Demand from Indian clients, which has dropped significantly this year, is also recovering after Nokia last month got a big contract from Vodafone Idea and is expected to get another from Bharti Airtel .
"India will return back to growth next year," Lundmark said.
Comparable earnings before interest and tax rose to 454 million euros, beating the 424 million euros expected by analysts in an LSEG poll.

Nokia maintained its full-year profit outlook of 2.3 billion to 2.9 billion euros, but said it was currently tracking within the bottom half of that range.