RIYADH: Al-Ittihad capped a dominant eSaudi Professional League 2019-2020 season by winning the title in the last round, beating Al-Baten 4-1 and becoming the first Saudi club to clinch the league championship.
The Ittihadi achievement did not come as a surprise for the fans, having in their ranks the reigning FIFA eWorld Cup champion Mossaed Al-Dossari and star player Rakan Al-Mutairi, among others.
In a statement Al-Dossari said: “I can’t believe we won our club’s first ever eSPL championship. I have loved this club since I was a kid and to have a chance to represent them is an honor.
“This is only the first step, now it’s time to focus on the eMBS Cup and every other national and international trophy out there.”
The last rounds of the league saw some of the most heated matchups of the entire championship.
Teams fought to secure one of eight seats in the eMBS Cup for a chance to win their clubs’ first title in the same way Ittihad won theirs. Al-Qadisiah club claimed the eighth and last spot and joined the teams that will get a shot at the cup title.
“The incredible excitement the league saw was due to the desire to participate in the cup. We want to win this one for our fans, they deserve only the best. The need to secure a place pressured us physically and psychologically. In the end, we managed to grab the eighth seat,” said Majid Al-Saleem of his team’s qualification.
The eMBS cup will be held May 13-14 in Riyadh. The knockout format tournament will be hosted at SARENA SAFEIS Arena, which can accommodate 1,000 spectators.
Tickets for the eMBS Cup are available on the tournament website and spectators from around the world can watch the matches via the SAFEIS Twitch and YouTube.
The Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS) is the regulating body in charge of developing elite gaming athletes and the gaming community and industry in the country. Its goal is for Saudis to be among the most accomplished gamers around the world and for Saudi Arabia to be a global gaming hub.
Since its establishment in late 2017, the federation has organized multiple world-class national and international tournaments. For more information, visit SAFEIS website: https://www.safeis.sa/.
