The e-sports scene in Qatar would not thrive without individuals and groups who step up to create a platform for the community. In recent years, more and more organizations have come out to elevate the gaming industry in Qatar, hosting events, building teams, nurturing talents, and more.
On this edition of ILQ Level Up, we caught up with AbdulRahman Al-Mana, a leader in e-sports in Qatar, as he talks about his organizations, his journey in the industry, and his teams' plans and platforms.
AbdulRahman: My name is AbdulRahman Al-Mana. I am the CEO of Team Mana for Event Planning & Trade, the first fully Qatari-owned company working to develop e-sports as a sector in Qatar. I am also a Super Smash Bros. Qatar's Director & Head Tournament Organizer. I, alongside my fantastic team, organize, broadcast, and commentate tournaments and occasionally compete in them as well.
I love competitive gaming and believe in its viability as a spectator sport and a way of building communities and lifelong friendships. I want to help build a platform that elevates the grassroots gaming communities in Qatar to help bring better opportunities and allow us to build the international projects we envision.
AbdulRahman: I've been into gaming for as long as I can remember. Video games have always played a central role in my life; it was the primary media I consumed. It's the only medium that is truly interactive, which makes it an incredible way to tell stories and form new experiences. Growing up, I always played Nintendo games with family members and friends. One of my earliest memories from childhood is playing Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64.
I dove into the world of e-sports through Super Smash Bros., which was one of my favourite games of all time. A little over 11 years ago, my friends and I had heard about a Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament being hosted in Doha. Since it was a game we always played, we were confident that we could outperform everyone there. While my friends succeeded, I didn't do too well but was hooked.
From there on, I learnt more about the competitive Smash Bros. community overseas and became heavily invested in it, and I wanted to start a series of tournaments for Smash Bros. in Doha. During high school, a new Smash Bros. game had just been released; those friends and I started hosting tournaments for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. From there, I learnt more about how to organize tournaments, build communities, and broadcast games. And from there, the modern competitive Super Smash Bros. community was born in Qatar. I would spend my free time organizing, hosting tournaments, and building the community for the next two years.
AbdulRahman: The competitive Super Smash Bros. community in Qatar had formed at that time, and I was its leader, but there was a need to create a centralized platform for discussions, tournament announcements, as well as pages to upload broadcasts.
My partner, Abdulla "Kenji" Al-Thani, created pages for the community under this banner in late 2016. He spearheaded the community during my absence while studying abroad and created 'SSBQ' as the brand and identity we know today.
AbdulRahman: Under the banner of SSBQ for the last 7 years and the 2 years before that, our group has been working as freelancers hosting tournaments. We had a strong network of clients to work with, but we were severely limited in the niche of competitive Super Smash Bros. By this time, we felt slightly demotivated, we had SSBQ figured out a system, optimized in its' league format and seasonal power rankings, it was time for us to start something new that was a natural evolution of the work that we had done in SSBQ.
The team started as a joke in one of our gatherings, where we had bet that if one of our players could beat our best players that we would create a pro team to sponsor his activities.
That same night the concept stuck in my head, and I began to think about it more. This was the natural evolution of SSBQ and what we could do. I had started working with an artist on creating a logo and a business pitch to sell to my 2 partners as investors. After presenting the idea to both Abdulla and Mohammad, they were on board as partners in forming this company.
Team Mana works on 3 fronts, a group of expert tournament organizers and broadcasters who can host and stream tournaments at all scales, a team of content creators and professional players, and a lifestyle brand. We are trying to emulate the work that we have done for SSBQ across all the grassroots gaming communities. We wanted to uplift these grassroots communities into something that can be hosted on the world stage.
AbdulRahman: Currently, Team Mana, alongside Project Infinite, has built the Qatar E-League Series. We have founded dedicated leagues for each competitive game that run annual circuits. These circuits would produce rankings of the definitive best performers in the country. Beyond that, we are currently building our plans to host international and regional events for different games hosted here in Qatar. We have also launched our team of content creators and recently have publicly launched our pro team.
So far, we have signed on 2 professional Super Smash Bros. players, Mohammad "Crono" Al-Qahtani & Ahmed "Xaiop" Ghanim. But more exciting names will be announced soon, so please follow and support us on our social media channels.
AbdulRahman: To make Qatar, and Doha, the capital of e-sports in the world.
AbdulRahman: There is a misconception that the e-sports scene needs to be "built" or "discovered" in Qatar. These statements do a disservice to the plethora of individuals and groups that have built competitive gaming platforms in the country as grassroots initiatives. As an ecosystem, e-sports has existed in Qatar for many years. What it needs is not building but a means of elevating and legitimizing this work.
E-sports is a rapidly growing scene in the GCC and truly an exciting industry to be a part of. There is a lot of room for it to grow, and it shows a great deal of potential, but it is a project that requires a lot of time and a lot of patience. A lot of work needs to be done to legitimize e-sports work in the GCC, including clear structures, means of licensing, and legal frameworks.
AbdulRahman: Have a clear strategy. Study your work plan carefully. Create smart and achievable goals. And above all else, don't give up.
AbdulRahman: Team Mana, in collaboration with Showdown, hosts the Qatar E-League Series at Geek Street every single week! We host Super Smash Bros., Street Fighter, Tekken, and Call of Duty tournaments!
We are currently looking into expanding the scope of the league to include other games. We also have exciting announcements to make regarding major tournaments. Please stay tuned to our social media pages for exciting announcements! We promise it'll be worth it.
AbdulRahman: I do play competitively! For the longest time, I was ranked in Qatar for Super Smash Bros. and was considered one of the best players of my character, Ganondorf. I haven't been able to practice or compete as much lately, but I still try to join the Smash Bros. tournaments we host.
AbdulRahman: Team Mana always seeks people to collaborate with on projects! Our doors and inboxes are open to any suggestions. This project is for the community, by the community. Please feel free to contact us via e-mail, [email protected], or our social media pages.
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