JEDDAH, 21 May 2005 — Saudi Arabia is the first and only Gulf country to participate in the 3rd world cup championship of electronic sports games. A Saudi team selected from three cities in the Kingdom will participate in the eliminations, for the second time, after participating last year. The best 14 players will be chosen to represent Saudi Arabia in the championship. The Saudi local eliminations started May 1 and will continue until May 26 in Jeddah, Riyadh and Alkhobar.
Among 1,000 Saudi players, the best players from Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh, will compete in the final elimination in Jeddah to decide which of the best players will participate in the final 4 games. The games include Pro Evolution soccer 4, a football game, which will be the most important, as well as War Craft 3, Counter-Strike and Gran Turismo 4. The top 3 Saudi players will represent Saudi Arabia in each stage of the championship, except during the Counter-Strike match, which consists of 5 players.
Fifty countries will participate in the championship, held at the Louvre Museum Square in Paris from July 6th to July 11th. It is estimated that as many as eight hundred players from more over 50 countries will compete in the championship. Due to the large number of participants, and growing excitement about the event, this year’s prizes have increased, which total $300,000.
The Saudi part of the competition is being held at E-Warz on Palestine Street, Jeddah. Yasser Bahjatt, the Saudi supervisor of the eliminations in Saudi Arabia, stated that the Electronic Sports Championship has grown in popularity around the world. Bahjatt also stated that China was a concern, because “they have a qualification rounds which has 34,000 players.
So out of that 34,000 you’ll get some players who have had a lot of experience with the games.” To combat this Bahjatt said that in order to overcome such fears the team has held several internal matches so the players do not suffer from a “lack of knowledge about the game.” In conclusion he urges all “experienced gamers within the Kingdom to come forward, so the Saudi team can have the best 3 players possible.”
The progress of the Saudi players has been good so far, especially the 5th place winner of the championship, Engineer Alaa’ Hakim,” Bahjatt said. Alaa’ Hakim, 1st place winner of the championship in the Kingdom and 5th international winner, told Arab News he was glad to participate in the championship last year. He said, “It was a good experience and I was able to meet people from different countries. My participation had nothing to do with my job. I’ve been interested in videogames since I was a child.”
He added, “I won in the Pro Evolution soccer last year. I think this year’s championship will be better than the year before. I can see that the sponsors (Close-Up and AXE) are active in taking pictures of the participants.” A competitor at this year’s tournament commended the E-Warz for holding the competition saying it was “a new concept in Saudi Arabia.” But did say that the Saudi team would have a difficult time against teams like China because the Kingdom lacks “hardcore gamers.”
The local eliminations are sponsored by both brands, Close-Up and AXE, from Uni-Leaver Company. Ahmed Osailan, marketing manager for Close-Up and AXE in Uni Leaver in Gulf countries, says, “Our sponsorship of the event is part of our support and encouragement for the Saudi team to participate in these international events.” He added, “The event is an opportunity for the Saudi youth to prove themselves in the fields of technology and electronics.”
Registering in the championship will continue until May 22 in Riyadh and Alkhobar, and May 25 in Jeddah. The local finals, which will qualify the fourteen Saudi players to play in Paris, will be played on June 16 after it was postponed from May 26 because of the academic final exams. The official website for the local eliminations of the championship www.e-warz.com provides more information about the event and how to register.