The Esports World Cup saw a ‘Super Sunday’ of grand finals on the penultimate weekend in Riyadh, with 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.
Since July 3, the Esports World Cup has captured the imagination of gamers globally – with EA Sports FC 24 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III many fans’ highlights in the roster of 22 tournaments across 21 titles. Both provided excitement in droves on Sunday.
When asked about his historic triumph, Jafonso, real name João Vasconcelos, replied: “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 after clinching EWC glory: “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 the history of esports, with $60 million on offer. Representing Luna Galaxy, EA Sports FC 24 win earned them $300,000 from the tournament’s $1 million prize pool, while Atlanta FaZe’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III triumph saw them collect $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, real name 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, real name McArthur Jovel, praised the inaugural Esports World Cup and 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 “definitely the best moment” of his career.
Clem, who earned a life-changing winning sum of $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. ESL and Rocket League begin on Thursday. The PUBG Battlegrounds final is on Saturday, with the other three tournaments’ grand finals take place on Sunday – where the epic and highly-anticipated Closing Ceremony will draw the inaugural Esports World Cup to a breathtaking finale.
For more information, please visit Esports World Cup. To buy tickets, please see Esports World Cup | webook.com.
COMMENTS