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.
