RIYADH: The Esports World Cup’s “Super Sunday” of grand finals yesterday, on the penultimate weekend in Riyadh, had Jafonso claiming “EA Sports FC 24” gold, Atlanta FaZe blasting their way to “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III” success, and Clem earning “StarCraft II” glory.
The Esports World Cup kicked off on July 3 and has hosted 22 tournaments across 21 titles.
Jafonso, whose real name is Joao Vasconcelos, said: “This is a dream come true. I was feeling really confident heading into the latter stages of this tournament and I’ve always believed that I could be a world champion.
“To achieve this goal here at the first-ever Esports World Cup is unbelievable — it’s the culmination of years of hard work.”
Jafonso was representing Luna Galaxy in the “EA Sports FC 24” competition — the Portuguese esports organization owned by Liverpool and Portugal forward Diogo Joto.
In the aftermath of his victory, Jafonso revealed that he spoke with the football icon: “Diogo video-called to say ‘well done’ and congratulate me — I want to say a very special ‘thank you’ to Diogo for the opportunity to represent this team.
“He’s been very supportive ever since I joined Luna Galaxy, for which I’m very grateful. Hopefully we can achieve more great things moving forward.”
The Esports World Cup has the largest tournament prize pool in history, with $60 million on offer.
Luna Galaxy’s win earned them $300,000 from the tournament’s $1 million prize pool, while Atlanta FaZe took $600,000 from the $1.8 million pot. Atlanta FaZe defeated 100 Thieves 4-2 in the “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III” final.
Drazah, whose real name is Zack Jordan, said: “What makes FaZe so special is our talent. We have the best person in each role in the world. We have real talent.
“We just get out there, talk to each other and we have trust in each other. It really shows that we can trust each other in the biggest moments. That’s why we won. It’s really just using our talents and playing together and showing why we’re the best.”
Cellium, whose real name is McArthur Jovel, said: “This tournament has been amazing. I feel just like being here at this tournament and seeing how amazing it is, that’s never something I thought I’d be able to do in gaming.”
In the “StarCraft II” final, Team Liquid player Clem whitewashed Serral from BASILISK 5-0 in the best-of-nine clash in what the French champion declared was “definitely the best moment” of his career.
Clem, who earned $400,000 from the tournament’s $1 million prize pool, said: “It still feels like a dream to me. For ‘StarCraft II,’ it’s the world championship.
“If you win this, people call you a world champion. It’s the biggest tournament of the year, the most important one. That felt very special for me because it is the one everyone is looking forward to and trying to qualify for and win.”
Week-eight competition in the Esports World Cup begins on Wednesday at Boulevard Riyadh City with “TEKKEN 8” and “PUBG Battlegrounds” action. The “ESL” and “Rocket League” contests begin on Thursday.
The “PUBG Battlegrounds” final is on Saturday, with the other three tournaments’ grand finals on Sunday.
