RIYADH: Team BDS won the European section of the Gamers Without Borders “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” event, organized by the Saudi Esports Federation.
The team won the $300,000 top prize at the GWB contest, the world’s largest charitable esports event, after four days of action.
They beat WYLDE 3-2 in the grand final, following their 2-1 win over MNM Gaming in the semifinal. Beaten finalists WYLDE overcame Wolves Esports 2-1 in their semifinal but failed to get the better of the champions in an exhilarating GWB matchup.
Elsewhere, in the North American GWB “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” section, M80 were the victors after powering past past DarkZero 3-2 in the grand final; while Ninjas in Pyjamas recorded the same scoreline over Team Liquid to claim South American success.
The Japan/Korea acclaim went to CYCLOPS, who breezed past SANDBOX Gaming 3-0 in that section’s final matchup. Each winning team also claimed $300,000 of the total $2.5 million humanitarian aid prize pool.
Each team’s win in the regional sections means they now qualify directly for Gamers8: The Land of Heroes, the biggest gaming and esports festival worldwide, which takes place from July 6, and is also organized by the Saudi Esports Federation.
As well as the “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” contest, GWB is hosting five tournaments across three other major gaming titles over a six-week period, which began on April 10, with contests in “StarCraft II,” “CS:GO” (with separate men and women’s events) and “Rocket League.”
The winning teams and players will advance to the finals, which take place at a purpose-built venue at Boulevard Riyadh City for eight weeks, with a record prize pool of $45 million up for grabs.
Players and teams participating at GWB’s 2023 “CS:GO,” “Rocket League” and “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” tournaments are competing for a $10 million charity prize pool.
The proceeds will be donated to humanitarian aid partners Direct Relief, IMC, UNICEF, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, World Food Programme and UNHCR.
