RIYADH: Diogo Jota, the Liverpool and Portugal footballer who took part in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh on Sunday, described the world's largest gaming festival as “a truly amazing experience”.
Jota, an avid gamer and investor in the multinational e-sports organization Galaxy Racer, watched all the action at Boulevard Riyadh City as the teams competed in the finals of the Dota2 Riyadh Masters and Counter-Strike 2 competitions.
The eight-week Esports World Cup features a unique cross-game structure in which the best clubs and players compete against each other in 22 competitions and 21 top matches.
It takes place at the 8,000-capacity Saudi Esports Federation Arena on Boulevard Riyadh City, runs until August 25, and has a tournament prize pool of $60 million, the largest in the sport's history.
The attacker, who has 42 caps and played for Portugal at UEFA Euro 2024 this summer, met the participating stars, including from Saudi Arabia's Falcons team, and happily swapped gaming and esports stories.
Jota said: “Being here at the first Esports World Cup is a truly incredible experience. The organisation and scale of this event is truly impressive, more than I expected.
“I have always believed in the potential of esports, even before I started my own team, and EWC is proof that this scene is evolving rapidly. This level of investment and infrastructure is exactly what esports needs to grow and reach a wider audience.
“I’m excited to see how EWC continues to evolve and push the boundaries of competitive gaming.”
Jota, who wears the No. 20 shirt for Liverpool, was ranked No. 1 in the world in FIFA 21's Champions leaderboard. A regular streamer on Twitch, he also won an invitational series of FIFA matches hosted by the Premier League during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jota, then a player for Wolverhampton Wanderers, defeated his future Liverpool teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold in the final.
Last year, Jota's own esports organization, Diogo Jota Esports, was renamed Luna Galaxy and came under the Galaxy Racer umbrella.
Previously, Diogo Jota Esports participated in the FIFAe Finals at Gamers8 last summer, organized by the Saudi Esports Federation at Boulevard Riyadh City, where Daniel “DFernandes” Fernandes finished in the top 16.
More than 1,500 players from over 60 countries are fighting for victory at the first Esports World Cup. The third week of the competition will feature the competitions “Dota2 Riyadh Masters”, “Counter Strike 2” and “PUBG Mobile”.
