RIYADH: Liverpool and Portugal footballer Diogo Jota attended the eSports World Cup in Riyadh on Sunday and declared the world's biggest gaming festival a “truly amazing experience”.
Jota, an avid gamer and investor in the multinational esports organization Galaxy Racer, watched the teams compete in the finals of the “Dota2 Riyadh Masters” and “Counter-Strike 2” tournaments at Boulevard Riyadh City.
The eight-week eSports World Cup features a unique competition structure that pits the best clubs and players against each other across 22 competitions across 21 major competitions.
The event will be held at the 8,000-seat Saudi Esports Federation Stadium on Riyadh City Boulevard and will run until August 25, with a tournament prize pool of $60 million, making it the largest in the sport's history.
The striker, who has been capped 42 times by his country and represented Portugal at UEFA Euro 2024 this summer, met with the participating stars, including Saudi Arabia’s Team Falcons, to chat about gaming and esports.
“It was an incredible experience to attend the first Esports World Cup,” said Jota. “The organization and scale of the event was truly impressive, and it was even more impressive than I expected.
“I have believed in the potential of esports since before I started my team, and EWC is proof that the 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 evolves and pushes the boundaries of competitive gaming.”
Jota, who wears the number 20 jersey for Liverpool, is currently ranked number one in the world on the FIFA 21 Champions leaderboard. A regular streamer on Twitch, he also won the FIFA Invitational, which was run by the Premier League during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jota, then a Wolverhampton Wanderers player, defeated future Liverpool team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold in the final.
Last year, Jota's in-house esports organization, Diogo Jota Esports, changed its name to Luna Galaxy and began operating under the name Galaxy Racer.
Prior to this, Diogo Jota Esports participated in the FIFAe Finals hosted by Gamers8 and organized by the Saudi Esports Federation at Boulevard Riyadh City last summer, where Daniel “DFernandes” Fernandes made it to the top 16.
More than 1,500 players from over 60 nationalities are competing in the first ever eSports World Cup, with the third week of the competition featuring the “Dota2 Riyadh Masters,” “Counter Strike 2,” and “PUBG Mobile” competitions.
