UK's longest-running gaming fest in Dubai

Dubai - The mega three-day event, expected to end on Saturday, also includes a meet and greet with game industry icons.

Game lovers are in for a sweet treat this weekend with Insomnia - an off-shot of the UK's longest- running gaming event - opening in Dubai on Thursday.
Armed with their best headsets, gaming mouse, and a bottle of water in some cases, hundreds of game lovers teemed at the Meydan Grandstand to check out their favourite line-up of arcade, board, card, and video games.
A dream come true for game lovers, an entire segment of the festival was dedicated to cosplay competitions, eSports tournaments, and latest VR games.
The mega three-day event, expected to end on Saturday, also includes a meet and greet with game industry icons including Tommy Tallarico, Seapeekay, Arab social media celebrity Fasoleyya, singer of the original Pokemon theme Jason Paige, and well-known British YouTubers The Sidemen.
Excited gamers
Gaming tournaments organised at the event include popular gaming titles such as Tekken, Fortnite, CS Go, Apex Legends, PubG, and Mortal Combat with cash prizes ranging from $4,000 to $7,000.
Ahmed Reyan, a 16-year-old Pakistani national gamer and his friend spoke to Khaleej Times, with their eyes glued on-screen playing MarioKart. "Everyone here has a similar mindset. They have intense passion for gaming, and the options are incredible," said Ahmed.
Jean Kluschke, a 16-year old from Ukraine, along with his friends Caitlin Saunders (16) and Tom Wallis (18) from Scotland, were cosplaying characters from the tactical first person shooter game Rainbow Six Siege. The Dubai-based students said the best thing about the festival was the opportunity to cosplay and meet new people. "We get to meet a lot of people and other cosplayers. Also, just the fact that we can dress up makes it great," they said.
Three levels of Cosplay competitions - Pro Cosplay, Cosplay Competition, and Kids Cosplay Competition for students under the age of 11 - are a huge part of the festival. Enthusiasts gathered at the festival got to try their hand at various consoles, PC Gaming, retro gaming options at the venue.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Dubai