ESL Saudi Challenge — everything you need to know

ESL Saudi Challenge — everything you need to know
The recent Esports World Cup in Riyadh showcased the growing popularity of gaming in Saudi Arabia. (SEF)
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Updated 05 November 2024
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ESL Saudi Challenge — everything you need to know

ESL Saudi Challenge — everything you need to know
  • The tournament playoffs will take place in Riyadh from Nov. 8-16, with the final on Dec. 7

RIYADH: The ESL Saudi Challenge qualifiers have officially ended and the stage is now set for the playoffs, which take place from Nov. 8-16.

After an intense round of Overwatch2 competition, the best teams from across Saudi Arabia have secured their spots and are ready to face off in the next phase, with a total prize pool of $20,000 up for grabs.

The success of the recent Esports World Cup in Riyadh highlighted the popularity of gaming among Saudi players and fans, and that looks set to continue with more competitions taking place across the Kingdom in the coming years.

The ESL Saudi Challenge, organized by esports and video game entertainment company ESL FACEIT Group, will also give the victors a chance to compete on a global stage.

During the playoffs, teams face off in an attempt to advance to the Finals, where the top three teams will go head-to-head in front of a live audience at VOV Gaming in Riyadh on Dec. 7.

Schedule and Format

Playoffs: Nov. 8-16

The best eight teams face off in the double elimination bracket matches.

Grand Finals: Dec. 7

The top three teams from the playoffs compete in lower bracket and upper bracket for the Grand Final. The winner will be crowned ESL Saudi Challenge Champion, taking home the top prize of $9,000 and qualifying for an international event in 2025.

Teams

The ESL Saudi Challenge will see some of the best teams in Overwatch compete for the grand prize:

Twisted Minds

Vision Esports

Himawari

Amigos

Roc esports

Al-Qadisiah

Dragons

Negative Mental Attitude

Prize money (USD) 

Total pool: $20,000

1st: $9,000

2nd: $5,000

3rd: $3,000

4th: $,1000

5th-8th: $500

Where to watch

Fans can watch  the playoffs on the ESL Arabia Twitch and YouTube channels. For those unable to tune in live, all matches will also be available to watch on-demand free of charge via YouTube.


Chelsea beat Spurs in seven-goal thriller to go second

Chelsea beat Spurs in seven-goal thriller to go second
Updated 08 December 2024
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Chelsea beat Spurs in seven-goal thriller to go second

Chelsea beat Spurs in seven-goal thriller to go second
  • Led by Palmer, Chelsea took control after the break to rub more salt in Spurs wounds and leave Postecoglou’s future up for debate

LONDON: Chelsea came from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham 4-3 on Sunday and go second in the Premier League thanks to two Cole Palmer penalties.
Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski gave under-fire Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou a dream start.
But his cavalier attacking approach will come under more scrutiny as Chelsea roared back to extend their unbeaten Premier League run to seven games.
Jadon Sancho gave the visitors a foothold before they dominated the second half with Palmer twice cool from the spot, either side of Enzo Fernandez’s strike.
Chelsea close to within four points of leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand after their visit to Everton on Saturday was postponed due to high winds.
Son Heung-min’s 96th-minute goal was little consolation for Spurs who have won just once in seven games and remain 11th in the table.
Postecoglou was involved in an angry confrontation with his own supporters after a dismal display in a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Thursday.
Spurs have often saved their best for the biggest games this season, beating Manchester City twice and cruising to a 3-0 win at Manchester United early in the campaign.
Postecoglou’s men flew out of the traps to leave an in-form Chelsea chasing shadows in the early stages.
Solanke stole in at the near post to turn in Brennan Johnson’s cross to open the scoring.
Kulusevski then meandered along the edge of the Blues’ box before firing low past Robert Sanchez to make it 2-0 inside 11 minutes.
Sancho scored his first Chelsea goal in a 5-1 romp at bottom-of-the-table Southampton in midweek to earn himself a start.
The Manchester United loanee quickly got the visitors back in the game with a brilliant long-range strike past Fraser Forster.
Somehow that was the end of the scoring in a frantic, fast-paced first 45 minutes that had chances aplenty at both ends.
Pape Sarr headed off the crossbar and Solanke should have converted Son’s cross to extend Tottenham’s lead.
At the other end, Forster stretched his long limbs to deny Palmer and Pedro Neto an equalizer.
Both sides were also fortunate to get to the break with 11 men still on the field.
Moises Caicedo’s studs-up challenge on Sarr was deemed not to have excessive force by the VAR official.
Likewise, Kulusevski escaped further punishment for a stray elbow on Romeo Lavia.
Led by Palmer, Chelsea took control after the break to rub more salt in Spurs wounds and leave Postecoglou’s future up for debate.
The former Australia boss bemoaned this week how his side often “shoot themselves in the foot” and so it proved for the vital fourth goal.
Yves Bissouma unnecessarily dived in on Caicedo to concede a penalty, which Palmer coolly dispatched to level.
Palmer had a major role in Chelsea’s third as well as his shot was blocked after a weaving run into the Spurs box, but the ball fell for Fernandez to blast home from the edge of the area.
To compound Tottenham’s woes, both their preferred center-back pairing of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both had to be replaced after being rushed back from injury to start.
Another moment of madness secured the points when Sarr barged Palmer over inside the area.
The England international this time impudently dinked the spot-kick Panenka-style down the middle of Forster’s goal.
Son turned in James Maddison’s cross to set up a nervy finale.
But Enzo Maresca’s men held on to close in on Liverpool and further their case as unexpected contenders for the title.


UAE driver Hamda Al-Qubaisi ready for next step after two-year F1 Academy stint

UAE driver Hamda Al-Qubaisi ready for next step after two-year F1 Academy stint
Updated 08 December 2024
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UAE driver Hamda Al-Qubaisi ready for next step after two-year F1 Academy stint

UAE driver Hamda Al-Qubaisi ready for next step after two-year F1 Academy stint
  • Emirati 22-year-old says she ‘will never let go of racing’

ABU DHABI: Hamda Al-Qubaisi saved her best for last, achieving two podium places in the final three races of the season at her home track in Abu Dhabi to finish her F1 Academy career on a high note.

The Emirati Red Bull driver has fulfilled the two-season limit in the female-only racing series and has yet to reveal her plans for 2025.

Asked if she had any idea of where she might be racing next year, Al-Qubaisi told Arab News: “Not at all, but I’m never going to let go of racing, let’s say. So I’m going to do something.”

In her first year at F1 Academy, Al-Qubaisi finished third in the championship, thanks to four race wins and seven podium finishes.

Her 2024 campaign was not as successful and she arrived at the final stop of the season in Abu Dhabi with just one podium under her belt, achieved in Barcelona earlier in the year.  

But Al-Qubaisi rallied on home soil at Yas Marina Circuit, getting her best result of the season, finishing second in Race 1, and followed that up with a third in Race 2. In Race 3 she collided with Lia Block on lap 12p and eventually finished 11th.

She ultimately secured fifth place in the drivers’ championship.

“Honestly, it’s a little bit sad. The season went by really quickly,” Al-Qubaisi told Arab News on Saturday, on the eve of her final outing in an F1 Academy car.

“So I feel like I wanted to make the most out of it, especially here on my home track and home country.”

It was mission accomplished for Al-Qubaisi, who got to celebrate her podium finishes with her nearest and dearest in the UAE capital.

“It’s an amazing feeling for me. I feel happy to do it here in front of my home crowd. The support I had all weekend was amazing,” Al-Qubaisi said.

“I have my family here with me, my fiance as well, and just all that support that I have means a lot to me. And to see them after I finished on the podium, to see them all happy is a really good feeling.”

Hamda and her older sister Amna flew the flag for the UAE in the F1 Academy these past two seasons, and are pioneers for Arab women in the world of motorsport.

Amna finished the championship in 15th place, scoring points just four times this campaign.

“I feel like we’ve made a good impact and I’m proud to say that we made that impact,” Hamda Al-Qubaisi said.

“We broke a boundary that was a bit taboo, let’s say. And now we’ve created a pathway and opportunities for many girls behind us.

“I go back to my karting track that I grew up in and I see a lot more Arab girls there and it makes me so proud and happy. I feel like we’ve done the first step and now there are many coming behind us and we’re happy also to be that representative.”

Hamda gives great credit to Amna, who is two years her senior, for paving the way for her and easing her entry into the sport.

Both Al-Qubaisis were part of the Red Bull family this year, with Hamda racing in F1 Academy in Red Bull Racing colors, and Amna representing the sister team of Visa Cash App RB.

“I feel like just being part of their programme and being able to use their facilities has been something amazing for me,” said Hamda of the Red Bull Academy programme tie-up.

“Being there at Milton Keynes, able to use their sim as well as their physical training facilities has been amazing. Just overall to see everything there, I was in awe the first time I went there, just to see all the F1 cars. It’s crazy how many people are working as well, all together to get this amazing team.

“So just being part of it all has been an honor and I'm very grateful for the opportunity.”

She described 2024 as a “big learning curve” for her and admitted her struggles with the car from the end of 2023 carried over into the start of this season.

She is happy, though, that they got things right at the end.

“We worked hard to make sure the car was good and we were able to get there at some point and we’re there now. It’s OK, it’s never too late,” she said.


Lando Norris seals ‘incredible’ McLaren constructors’ crown in Abu Dhabi

Lando Norris seals ‘incredible’ McLaren constructors’ crown in Abu Dhabi
Updated 08 December 2024
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Lando Norris seals ‘incredible’ McLaren constructors’ crown in Abu Dhabi

Lando Norris seals ‘incredible’ McLaren constructors’ crown in Abu Dhabi
  • McLaren won their title by 14 points from Ferrari whose challenge was finally subdued on a night of accidents, penalties and tantrums

ABU DHABI: Lando Norris clinched McLaren’s first team title in 26 years on Sunday when he drove to a calm and accomplished victory ahead of two chasing Ferraris at the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
On an evening of stirring emotions under floodlights at the Yas Marina Circuit, as seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton drove from 16th to fourth in his final race at Mercedes, Norris was the embodiment of cool as he raced from his eighth pole position to his fourth career win.
“It feels incredible,” said the driver born in 1999, one year after McLaren’s last constructors’ crown.
“Not for myself, but for the whole team. The team has done an amazing job this year to come from where we were at the beginning. I am so proud of everyone.
“It has been a lovely journey and so to end the season like this is perfect. A congrats and big thank you to everyone at McLaren.”
His team boss Zak Brown, who has generated energy and enthusiasm at English-based McLaren, said: “I love everyone in Woking. What a team effort! Amazing, but that was stressful. The worst two hours of my life!“
McLaren won their title by 14 points from Ferrari whose challenge was finally subdued on a night of accidents, penalties and tantrums.
McLaren ended the season on 666 points ahead of Ferrari on 652 and Red Bull on 589. Mercedes finished fourth on 468 and Aston Martin were fifth with 94.
“Papaya on top!” said Norris on his slowdown lap in his orange-yellow car.
“Congrats to everyone. Incredible. So proud of you all. You all deserve this. It’s been a special one. Next year is going to be my year too.”
The 25-year-old Briton came home 5.832 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz and his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc to end the Italian outfit’s hopes of a first title since 2008.
McLaren had not won the teams’ title since 1998, started the day with a lead of 21 points and a front row lockout, but suffered an early setback when Oscar Piastri was sent spinning in a clash with newly-crowned four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull at the first corner.
This encouraged Ferrari and they mounted a defiant if vain bid for glory, to finish second and third ahead of Hamilton, who passed team-mate George Russell on the final lap.
“It’s a bitter-sweet feeling today,” said Sainz, who will join Williams next year when his Ferrari seat is taken by Hamilton.
“P2 was the maximum we could do today given the pace of Lando in the McLaren. I gave it everything.”
Team-mate Leclerc, who started 19th on he grid, said: “I knew I had to be aggressive on lap one to gain as many places as possible to gain positions and be in a good position for the rest of the race. This was achieved. but we were just too far back to do anything more for the rest of the race.”
Russell came home fifth ahead of Verstappen, who was handed a 10 second penalty crashing into Piastri.
Hamilton, 39, marked the end of his 12 years at Mercedes with a rousing and memorable drive from his record 246th start with the team and spun his car in a series of ‘donuts’ to celebrate at the end.
“Lewis, that was the drive of a world champion,” said team chief Toto Wolff as the crowd chanted “Lewis, Lewis.”
“What started out as a leap of faith, we turned it into making history,” said Hamilton to his race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington.
Norris made a clean start from his eighth pole of the year to lead into Turn One where Verstappen attacked Piastri on the inside and made contact to send both spinning.
Verstappen’s ‘dive bomb’ drew the comment “yep, move of a world champion there” from Piastri on McLaren team radio.
Piastri rejoined in 20th and last, but Verstappen squeezed back into 11th as team-mate Sergio Perez’s miserable season concluded with a spin out after contact with Valtteri Bottas’s Sauber.
After serving his penalty Verstappen asked with sarcastic venom: “Could we ask for 20 seconds? Stupid idiots.”
With 20 laps to go, Hamilton’s race engineer Bonnington, for the final time, told his driver “Lewis, it’s hammer time.” Hamilton asked for the gap to third and was told 14 seconds. “You can do it,” chimed in his team chief Wolff before Hamilton overtook Gasly for fifth.
At the front, Norris was the embodiment of cool, 5.9 clear of Sainz and managing his race with detached precision.


Karim Benzema endorses Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid during Jeddah visit

Karim Benzema endorses Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid during Jeddah visit
Updated 08 December 2024
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Karim Benzema endorses Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid during Jeddah visit

Karim Benzema endorses Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid during Jeddah visit
  • Superstar stresses importance of sport’s grassroots development

JEDDAH: French and Saudi Pro League superstar Karim Benzema expressed his confidence in Saudi Arabia’s readiness to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034 during a recent meeting with young players in Jeddah.

The 2022 Ballon d’Or winner met trainees from the Saudi Football Federation’s regional training centers at the weekend and emphasized the importance of grassroots development in building a competitive footballing generation.

Benzema, who joined Al-Ittihad in 2023 as part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to elevate its football scene, praised the country’s transformation and extended an open invitation to the people of the world to experience its culture.

He said: “I advise you to visit Saudi Arabia. Anyone who has a preconceived idea should come for themselves. It is a wonderful country.”

The striker also paid tribute to the nation’s commitment to nurturing young footballing talent, saying: “Saudi football is developing, and I am confident that after 10 years Saudi Arabia will be fully prepared (for the World Cup).

“Training and development begin with the young players, and this is the most important thing — creating a generation that can reach the highest level.”

Saudi Arabia is the sole bidder for the 2034 World Cup and aims to become the second Middle Eastern country to host the tournament following the competition in Qatar in 2022.

The Kingdom has embarked on an ambitious sports development strategy under its Vision 2030 framework, investing heavily in domestic leagues, infrastructure, and youth programs.

The official announcement of the 2034 FIFA World Cup hosts is expected this month, with Saudi Arabia poised to host the world’s biggest footballing event.


Rashid Al-Dhaheri does the double at Yas Marina Circuit

Rashid Al-Dhaheri does the double at Yas Marina Circuit
Updated 08 December 2024
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Rashid Al-Dhaheri does the double at Yas Marina Circuit

Rashid Al-Dhaheri does the double at Yas Marina Circuit

ABU DHABI: Yas Heat Racing Ambassador and Mumbai Falcons Racing’s Rashid Al-Dhaheri again dominated the field at Yas Marina Circuit and claimed his second win of the Formula 4 Middle East Trophy Round.

With an assured drive from lights out to checkered flag, the masterclass by the Emirati racer put him easily ahead of the chasing Evans GP duo of Kai Daryanani and Reno Francot in P2 and P3, respectively.

Yas Heat Racing’s August Raber bagged P4, with teammate Adam Al-Azhari finishing in P6 in a strong weekend performance for the team.

Emily Cotty’s run of misfortune continued into Race 2, with an early retirement on Lap 4.