RIYADH: EA Sports has announced the launch of the first-ever Ramadan tournament, set to take place during the holy month from March 18 to 29.

The EA Sports FC Ramadan Tournament will be organized by Zawaya Gaming and powered by Pepsi with support from the Saudi eSports Federation.

The event will feature two parallel knockout tournaments: one for EA Sports FC 24 on PlayStation 5, and the other for EA Sports FC Mobile.

A total of 16 players will qualify to compete in the finals, with eight players being paired with athletes and creators for a two-versus-two tournament in the two competitions.

The console tournament will be open to participants from Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, while mobile participants will include competitors from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and Indonesia.

The live finals will take place at the SEF Arena in Riyadh.

RIYADH: The Riyadh 2023 Global Esports Games concluded this weekend with three nations securing hard-fought victories in the flagship multi-title competition.

The final day of the tournament on Saturday — hosted by the Saudi Esports Federation and presented by the Global Esports Federation — saw Kazakhstan win the Dota 2 Open, Malaysia take the Dota 2 Women title, and Jordan claim the eFootball 2024 competition.

“The Riyadh 2023 Global Esports Games have been an incredible success and it’s been an absolute privilege to host such a prestigious competition in our Kingdom’s capital — one of the fastest-rising international esports hubs in the world today,” said Saudi Esports Federation CEO Turki Al-Fawzan. “The Games have been fantastic from start to finish and I’m sure esports fans near and far are beyond satisfied at the way the tournament went out on a high.

“With three finals scheduled for Saturday, the stage was set for some of the world’s best teams and athletes to showcase why esports is now the most popular sport worldwide. I believe they achieved precisely that and on behalf of the Saudi Esports Federation, I’d like to congratulate both the winners and runners-up on what they’ve accomplished this week. They’ve been a credit to themselves, their countries, and the entire esports community as always. Well done to all.”

The #GEG23 finale kicked off with Kazakhstan beating Malaysia 2-1 in the Dota 2 Open final, in the best-of-three contest.

In the Dota 2 Women final — in what was a brilliant advert for professional women’s esports — Malaysia overcame Peru to secure outright victory.

Heading into the final, Malaysia had not dropped a single game, overcoming both Thailand and Argentina 2-0 in the best-of-three encounters. This trend continued in the final with a 2-0 win over Peru.

The last of Saturday’s finals then saw Iran face Jordan for the eFootball 2024 title — with each nation represented by an elite athlete.

The first match ended in a 1-1 draw, while Jordan edged the second game 2-1, and followed this up in the third with a 1-0 win to seal victory. The hero for Jordan was S.HACKER.55 who overcame the best eFootball 2024 athletes from the Netherlands, Colombia, Poland and Iran en route to #GEG23 glory.