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- Chinese player Xiao Hai dedicates victory in Riyadh to spouse Elena, who ran onto the stage to hug him after his $300,000 triumph
RIYADH: One of the most heartwarming moments during the Esports World Cup in Riyadh so far came just after Zeng Zhuoju unexpectedly, but deservedly, won the Street Fighter 6 tournament.
The player, competing under his nickname Xiao Hai, shed tears of joy as he lifted the coveted trophy. And as if the emotional moment was not perfect enough, his wife Elena then ran onto the stage to embrace him, in a show of love and affection that generated even louder cheers and applause from an already enraptured crowd at the Qiddiya Arena at Boulevard Riyadh City.
“A lot of people said to me, ‘Don’t bring your family, just focus on your tournament,’” said Zeng, who earned $300,000 from the tournament’s $1m prize pool for his success in the final on Aug. 11.
“They said, ‘That’s the only thing you should focus on.’ But I wanted to bring my wife — and I won the tournament because my wife is my lucky charm.”
It was especially fitting that she was there to see his triumph because it was esports that brought 35-year-old Zeng and 29-year-old Elena together. He was competing in a tournament in Changsha, Elena’s home town, which is about two-and-a-half hours by train from where he lived in Guangzhou, when they met at karaoke. They fell in love and married in December 2021.
Elena said that watching her husband win the Street Fighter 6 competition, with a 5-2 victory in the final over Kawano, was a feeling she can still barely describe.
“The way I feel is the way I imagine I will feel when I’m pregnant,” she said. “That’s the kind of feeling I have: I feel so happy. It’s a great feeling.”
Her general sense of pride in her husband is obvious when she speaks.
“He’s very hard working,” Elena added. “Sometimes we’ll go out to eat or watch a movie or something and he’ll have an idea and he’ll stop and write it down. Then he’ll go to his computer on his live stream and start doing the thing he was thinking about.”
They say that behind every great man there stands a great woman and in Zeng’s case it seems the saying could not be more true.
“Sometimes I am playing and streaming so much I don’t even have time to spend with my wife,” he said. “Sometimes I need to write something down in case I forget it.
“Saturday, Aug. 10 (the day before the Street Fighter 6 final) was Chinese Valentine’s Day but I was busy that day. I was focusing. The day after was the great day for me, and for us. It was a great moment for us and we celebrated properly.”
Zeng has spoken since his success about his feeling that people had written him off before the final because of his age. Now, he said, he is aiming for back-to-back Esports World Cup wins in Riyadh.
“I am 35 years old and too many people said I am older and can’t do it anymore,” he said. “But I proved I can do it. I am Xiao Hai, and I am an Esports World Cup champion. And I am really thankful that my wife was there.
“Many people were thinking she was just with me for a holiday or traveling. But she was representing my love. I was very happy to win and give her this moment but it’s not enough. I want more and more. Maybe this could be my future; now I want to win more games and more tournaments and more money. I want to win in Riyadh at the Esports World Cup next year.
“A lot of people would say they are my fans, that they like me, but if I lose they might say, ‘Oh, you need to go back and practice’ or ‘Oh, you shouldn’t have done that.’ My wife is my lucky star. She is with me all the time and has always supported me whether I do good or bad. She is with me. She is my lucky person.”
The Esports World Cup in Riyadh concludes on Aug. 25.