Vampire Esports soar to PUBG MOBILE World Invitational triumph at Gamers8 in Riyadh

Thai team Vampire Esports celebrate their win at Gamers8 in Riyadh. (Supplied)
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Updated 14 August 2022
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Vampire Esports soar to PUBG MOBILE World Invitational triumph at Gamers8 in Riyadh

  • The three-day main tournament saw the Thai team claim $500,000 of the $2m prize pool
  • The full tournament concludes next week with $1m Afterparty Showdown

RIYADH: Gamers8 on Saturday night saw Vampire Esports crowned PUBG MOBILE World Invitational (PMWI) champions at Boulevard Riyadh City.

The team from Thailand claimed $500,000 of the total $2 million prize pool after scoring 220 points. That points total was enough to edge out homegrown heroes Team Falcons from Saudi Arabia, who scored 197 points, into second place.

Team Falcons’ exploits earned them $300,000, while the 180 points scored by Stalwart Esports, from Mongolia, claimed third spot and $160,000. The MVP award, and with it $10,000, also went to Stalwart Esports — with star performer Action leading the individual rankings from day one of the tournament on Thursday right up until Saturday’s conclusion.

But the team of the tournament was far and away Vampire Esports, who celebrated their success by collectively — and delightedly — hoisting the spectacular PMWI Gamers8 trophy high into the air at the purpose-built arena at Boulevard Riyadh City.

Vampire Esports Leader Rvenclaw said: “This is the greatest achievement of our lives. It was our team goal to come here and win, and we are so delighted to have done so. We really encouraged each other to win.”

“The Esports Arena at Boulevard Riyadh City is a great venue and the fans created a great atmosphere. It was a great honor to be here in Riyadh and we have really enjoyed our time in Saudi Arabia — it is a beautiful country,” he added. “We have really enjoyed the culture here; the buildings are beautiful, the food has been awesome, and the people have been very welcoming. We will save the money that we have earned from winning the tournament in our bank accounts.”

Asked if the team had a message for the young gamers of Saudi Arabia who wish to follow in their footsteps, Rvenclaw said: “If you want to be a professional esports player, you must have the self-discipline to be able to study, practice and do your homework. When you see the best players in the world right now, they all have self-discipline and keep on improving. This is what makes you win and makes money for you and your family!”

The second annual PMWI tournament marks the fifth and final phase of the historic Professional Esports calendar at Gamers8, which is being organized by the Saudi Esports Federation.

Split into two parts, the main tournament welcomed 17 regional champions and one homegrown representative. The Afterparty Showdown — the second week’s tournament taking place from Aug. 18-20 — will see teams competing for the remaining $1 million on offer.

The Afterparty Showdown line-up will comprise the top five teams from the first week – the aforementioned Vampire Esports, Team Falcons, and Stalwart Esports, as well as Nigma Galaxy, who hail from the UAE and India, and DWG Kia from South Korea — alongside six teams chosen from different regions, and one given a special invitation to compete.

Faisal bin Hamran, head of esports at the Saudi Esports Federation, said: “The PUBG MOBILE World Invitational at Gamers8 witnessed high enthusiasm from the participating teams, the fans present at the Esports Arena at Boulevard Riyadh City, and the tournament followers on Gamers8 channels being broadcast live in eight languages.

“This is our fifth tournament of the Gamers8 season, and the PMWI only adds to the glittering roster of elite action that we have been delighted — and privileged — to have witnessed this summer. I congratulate all the participating teams, especially those who qualified for the Afterparty Showdown that will be held next week.”


Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 29 points and Thunder beat Pacers 103-91 for NBA title

Updated 13 sec ago
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 29 points and Thunder beat Pacers 103-91 for NBA title

OKLAHOMA CITY: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished off his MVP season with 29 points and 12 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA championship, pulling away in the second half to beat the Indiana Pacers 103-91 on Sunday night.
Jalen Williams scored 20 and Chet Holmgren had 18 for the Thunder, who were pushed to a Game 7 brink in the NBA Finals — but finished off a season for the ages. Oklahoma City won 84 games between the regular season and the playoffs, tying the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls for third-most in any season.
Only Golden State (88 in 2016-17) and the Bulls (87 in 2015-16) won more.
It’s the second championship for the franchise. The Seattle SuperSonics won the NBA title in 1979; the team was moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. There’s nothing in the rafters in Oklahoma City to commemorate that title.
Next October, a championship banner is finally coming. A Thunder banner.
It was not easy to secure.
The Pacers led 48-47 at the half even after losing star guard Tyrese Haliburton to what his father said was an Achilles tendon injury about seven minutes into the game. But they were outscored 34-20 in the third quarter as the Thunder built a 13-point lead and began to run away.
Bennedict Mathurin had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, which still is waiting for its first NBA title. The Pacers — who were 10-15 after 25 games and were bidding to be the first team in NBA history to turn that bad of a start into a championship — had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the series, but they simply didn’t have enough in the end.
Home teams are now 16-4 in NBA Finals Game 7s. And the Thunder became the seventh champion in the last seven seasons, a run of parity like none other in NBA history.
Pacers forward Pascal Siakam was part of the Toronto team that won in 2019, Thunder guard Alex Caruso was part of the Los Angeles Lakers team that won in the pandemic “bubble” in 2020, Milwaukee won in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Pacers forward Thomas Bryant and Denver prevailed in 2023, and Boston won last year’s title.
The Thunder are the ninth franchise to win a title in NBA Commissioner Adam Silver 12 seasons leading the league. His predecessor, David Stern, saw eight franchises win titles in his 30 seasons as commissioner.
 


Gold Cup: Saudi Arabia tie Trinidad, advance out of Group D

Updated 39 min 18 sec ago
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Gold Cup: Saudi Arabia tie Trinidad, advance out of Group D

  • Firas Al-Buraikan found the all-important equalizer for Saudi Arabia to notch a 1-1 draw with Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday

Firas Al-Buraikan found the all-important equalizer for Saudi Arabia to notch a 1-1 draw with Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday in Las Vegas, ensuring the CONCACAF’s guests would advance to the knockout stage of the Gold Cup.
While the United States won Group D with a perfect 3-0-0 record, Saudi Arabia finished 1-1-1 (4 points) to place second. Trinidad and Tobago (0-1-2, 2 points) would have leapfrogged Saudi Arabia for second with a victory.
Justin Garcia nearly put Trinidad ahead in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time, but his point-blank shot from the center of the box caromed off the crossbar.
Al-Buraikan’s tying goal also involved the woodwork. Saleh Al-Shehri received a pass down the center lane, dribbled around one defender and watched his ensuing shot hit the crossbar and stay out of the net. Al-Buraikan ran in to collect the ball and tap it behind goalkeeper Marvin Phillip (two saves).
Dante Sealy staked Trinidad to a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute on a left-footed rocket from outside the box.
Nawaf Al-Aqidi made two saves for Saudi Arabia.
 


RB Salzburg, Al-Hilal tussle to 0-0 draw at Club World Cup

Updated 56 min 31 sec ago
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RB Salzburg, Al-Hilal tussle to 0-0 draw at Club World Cup

  • Al-Hilal will play Pachuca in Nashville on Thursday

RB Salzburg and Al-Hilal played to a scoreless draw in a Group H match of the Club World Cup on Sunday in Washington.
Salzburg (1-0-1, 4 points), a 17-time Austrian Bundesliga champion, had an opportunity to become the first from Group H to advance to the quarterfinals but instead is second to Real Madrid (1-0-1, 4 points) on goal differential, which favors the Spanish club by one. They face each other in the final group match in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Al-Hilal (0-0-2, 2 points) of the Saudi Pro League, where they have won 19 titles, play Pachuca (0-2-0, 0 points), which has been eliminated, in Nashville on Thursday.
Yassine Bounou made five saves for Al-Hilal. His counterpart, Christian Zawieschitzky, had four.
The match was played with pace despite a real-feel temperature of 99 degrees.
Al-Hilal came close to a breakthrough in the 81st minute when Sergej Milinkovic-Savic earmarked a shot for the bottom left corner from outside the box, but Zawieschitzky covered the post for the save.
While Al-Hilal finished with a 19-13 advantage in attempts, it was a frustrating afternoon for each side with numerous missed chances.
Al-Hilal had 10 of the 15 shot attempts in the scoreless first half. The problem was that Zawieschitzky needed to make just one save.
It did help him that defender Jacob Rasmussen blocked a right-footed shot from Marcos Leonardo and cleared it from near the goal line in the 21st minute. Otherwise the lone Al-Hilal shot on target was by Salem Al-Dawsari in the fifth minute.
Salzburg put three of its five shots on target in the first half, including an opportunity in the ninth minute. Frans Kratzig sent a long overhead ball to Karim Onisiwo in the center of the box and he deftly flicked the ball toward keeper Yassine Bounou with the outside of his right foot.
Bounou was better tested in the 48th minute when he stood tall to deny John Mellberg staring at him from the 6-yard box.


Real Madrid beats Pachuca 3-1 in Club World Cup while playing most of the match with 10 men

Updated 23 June 2025
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Real Madrid beats Pachuca 3-1 in Club World Cup while playing most of the match with 10 men

  • It hardly mattered as Madrid dominated the Mexican club rest of the way to give Xabi Alonso his first win as coach of the Spanish power

CHARLOTTE, N.C.: Jude Bellingham and Arda Güler scored first-half goals and short-handed Real Madrid bounced back from a disappointing performance in its Club World Cup opener to beat Pachuca 3-1 on Sunday in front of 70,248 spectators at Bank of America Stadium.
Seven minutes in, defender Raul Asencio received a red card, forcing Real Madrid to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
It hardly mattered as Madrid dominated the Mexican club rest of the way to give Xabi Alonso his first win as coach of the Spanish power.
Bellingham got Madrid on the board in the 35th minute when he took a pass from Fran Garcia just inside the box and belted a perfectly placed left-footed shot past goalkeeper Carlos Moreno into the right corner.
Eight minutes later, Güler made it 2-0 when he delivered a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner off an assist from Gonzalo García. Federico Valverde put the final touches on the win in the second half with a sliding right-footed shot off an assist from Brahim Díaz.
Goalkeeper Thabaut Courtois was on form with five saves in the first half. He turned away two point-blank shots in the early going and finished with 10 saves.
Elías Montiel ended Courtois’ bid for a shutout when he scored in the 80th minute for Pachuca, which fell to 0-2 in group play.
Kylian Mbappé has missed both Club World Cup starts after being hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis. He did not travel to Charlotte, but the team remains hopeful that he’ll be ready to play on Thursday night against Salzburg.
Key moment
There were some uneasy minutes early in the match for Madrid when Asencio pulled down Pacheco’s Agustin Palavecino as he was entering the box following a breakaway, forcing Aurelein Tchouameni to move to center back. But Madrid stayed on the attack and Bellingham had the breakthrough goal.
Takeaways
Madrid looked very much out of sync on Wednesday, playing Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal to a 1-1 draw in Alonso’s first game when Federico Valverde’s stoppage-time penalty was saved. That changed on Sunday as the talented roster began to mesh, with precise passing leading to both first-half goals.
Noteworthy
The game was played on a temporary grass field. The stadium is home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, who play on an artificial surface. ... With temperatures in the low 90s Fahrenheit (low 30s Celsius), players were given a water breaks midway through each half.
What they said
“We stayed together really well. It’s impressive how the team comes together to win the game. I’m really happy with the team today.” — Bellingham.
“I’m here to win. That is my way. I want to make a statement. We played well on some occasions but I can’t settle for just that.” — Pachuca coach Jaime Lozano.


Canelo and Crawford clash at intense face-off in New York

Updated 22 June 2025
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Canelo and Crawford clash at intense face-off in New York

  • Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the GEA and President of Saudi Boxing Federation, addressed crowd at Jevits Center

NEW YORK: A packed Fanatics Fest crowd at Jevits Center in New York witnessed the second leg of the global media tour ahead of the blockbuster Riyadh Season fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Terence Crawford, the two best pound for pound fighters in the world, on Sept. 13 in Las Vegas.

Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and President of the Saudi Boxing Federation, addressed the crowd after being introduced to the stage by legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer, before UFC CEO Dana White stepped up to oversee the press conference ahead of the fight of the century between the two biggest fighters of the modern era for the undisputed super middleweight title.

White announced the performance bonus for the highly-anticipated fight, being broadcast exclusively live on Netflix, will be “over six figures”, before staging an intense face off which led to Canelo and Crawford having to be separated by their teams.

Speaking at the press conference, reigning champion Canelo said: "He (Crawford) is one of the great fighters in the last years, obviously that is why he is a champion. My brother, Turki Alalshikh, thank you so much for this fight, we are here and I think it is a good fight for the fans."

In response, Crawford, a four-division and two-weight undisputed champion, said: "I'm hunting him. That's it. I'm hunting everything that he has got, and I am going to take it come September 13th. I am very confident. This is my time."

The global media tour will conclude on Friday, June 27 in Las Vegas, before the two fighters return to the same city for the main event in September.