RIYADH — Al-Ittihad’s Mosaad Aldossary was able to maintain his postion as the king of Saudi FIFA after beating his opponent Al-Ittifaq’s Yasser Alotaibi during a jaw-dropping final match with a score of 7-1 on the final day of the 2nd edition of the eMBS on Sunday.

Sixteen teams competed in a heated battle for the prize, but only one was crowned the winner and proved himself as the strongest EA SPORTS FIFA 21 athlete in the country. Even though only one raised the cup at the end, both players have secured a place in the West Asia regional playoffs.

For two weeks the eMBS, organized by the Saudi Arabian Federation of Electronic and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS), put Saudi Arabia’s best FIFA players against each other in a fierce competition for the country’s most precious cup. All 16 clubs from the Saudi Professional League competed for the coveted No. 1 spot of the eMBS cup with excitement and passion that rivals all other competitions.

Before the final match took place, 2 thrilling semifinals were played including the third place match. Al Raed’s Majed Alrashid was declared the third place winner after playing against Abha’s Zeyad Bin Samih in a close match with a 6-5 win for Al Raed.

Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Sultan, chairman of SAFEIS, commended the event by expressing how proud he is of the tournament. “The eMBS tournament has shown how far professional FIFA has come in the country. Every year new stars emerge competing at the highest level, aiming to prove themselves. Our goal is to support these stars as they continue to rise and lead the Saudi esports industry forward.”

The Saudi eLeagues are a group of esports leagues established by SAFEIS in October of 2020 with the goal of growing and elevating the Saudi esports industry to new heights and to create an ecosystem that can create internationally acclaimed stars who can compete at the highest level.

The eMBS tournament is a part of the Ministry of Sports’ club funding strategy, in which participating sports clubs earn points for participating and placing in official esports tournaments. These points account towards their overall support funding at the end of each year. The funding has increased the clubs’ excitement in esports and only proves the bright future ahead for esports. — SG