Recently we were able to sit down with the energetic and passionate team at 512 Kuwait to find out about their upcoming Viva 512 Knockout Gaming Tournament being held at the 360 Mall. Taking place over a 3 day period beginning March 21st, in which 512 players will be reduced to just one champion, the event promises 9 rounds of battle for all local gamers. With both bragging rights and a cash prize on the line, we dig-in with the organizers for more details…

Tell us about the upcoming event being held at 360:

Viva 512 will be the largest Football PlayStation event ever hosted in Kuwait. It will involve 512 contestants competing in EA Sports FIFA 13 over a period of three days, filtering down to one winner. The lucky winner will receive a significant cash prize that will be the largest of any single gaming event hosted in the GCC over a similar period of time.

How did this event get started?

This is the first year and first event that 512 are organizing. We all know that there is a huge interest in console gaming in Kuwait. In our minds a lot of Kuwaiti-based gamers can easily compete on an international level given the impressive aptitude for gaming that we have witnessed in the past. 512’s partners realized that creating an event where all the combined talent could be showcased in one place- over 3 days – would be a significant accomplishment and recognition to console gamers in Kuwait.

What is the goal of the event?

Our main goal is for our contestants to have fun competing in the event and for spectators including families and individuals to enjoy themselves. But we also believe that by involving high caliber sponsors and partners and gamers of all ages, nationalities, sexes and skill levels we will take console gaming to a whole new level in Kuwait. Additionally, we feel strongly that it’s our social responsibility to give back to the Kuwaiti community, and hence, a donation has been made to a wonderful organization: Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice.

Who are the parties involved in putting on this event?

512 Kuwait is the organizer of the event with VIVA Telecom as the headline sponsor, hence the VIVA 512 branding. We are privileged to have the following additional sponsors and partners also involved in the event: NBK, Nike Store, Qualitynet, Mini Cooper, Bayt Abdullah, Ali Abdulwahab, Goal!, 52 Degrees, and Mr. Babu.com. Also, X-Cite, by Alghanim Electronics, had kindly committed to power the event to a whole new level not seen in any of Kuwait’s past gaming events. We are truly excited and blessed to combine such a high caliber list of partners for the event – it’s a true testament that console gaming should be more mainstream – and we thank them dearly for their involvement.

Tell us a bit about yourselves and your roles in this event?

512 Kuwait is an entity exclusively dedicated to video gaming events and comprising of three main partners: Faisal Al-Omani, Abdullah Al-Sayer, and Faisal Al-Awadi. We’re all quite involved in every aspect of the business and don’t really like to separate roles specifically. You could say that Faisal A and Abdullah have been more behind the scenes in terms of organization and planning, and Faisal O is more involved from a public perspective in this initiative.

Give us the logistics:

Event Location: 360 Mall Exhibition Hall

Event Dates: March 21st to March 23rd, 2013.

Competition Game: PS3 FIFA 13

Online Registration: www.512kuwait.com – registration opened February 21st and will be closed one week before the event or when all 512 contestants have been filled. All rules and regulations are posted on our website. This is how the cuts for each round will work: Each round, the field of players will be cut in half for a total of 9 rounds estimated to take place over approximately 20 hours of gaming, all culminating in a head to head knockout tournament. There will be 14 gaming stations set up by X-Cite that will be active at most times over the duration of the three days. The final will be played at 6:30pm on March 23rd. The skilled winner at that point would have won 9 consecutive matches!

Anything else you think we should know about this event?

Although the focus of the event is gaming, there will be other types of fun non-gaming entertainment taking place with prizes handed out by different sponsors and partners to encourage participation by the audience. 512 plans on making this PlayStation Football Gaming Event an annual one, with the potential of organizing other events along the way both in Kuwait and in different cities across the GCC.

For any questions, to register, or for additional information, please email: info@512kuwait.com. You can also follow them on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram @512Kuwait.