We meet Qatar’s world championship-qualifying eSports stars.

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eSports is bigger than you think. Way bigger. By 2022 the market will be worth USD2billion and the top eSports athletes will continue to compete before a huge global audience of supporters that grows daily.

The biggest and very best news right now, right here, is that Team Qatar have qualified for the FIFA eNations Cup World Finals. Ahmed Al Meghessib and Jassim Al Eid, representing Qatar Football Association (QFA) eNational Team, qualified for the final of the Asian Cup and the World Championship Finals in Copenhagen after their victory over India in the eNations qualifiers.

They will be heading to the Danish capital of Copenhagen in August this year where they will face off against 23 other teams from across the planet on the highest competitive platform there is. “We’re very proud of Ahmed and Jassim’s qualification to the FIFA eNations Cup World Finals. It’s Qatar Football Associations’ e-team’s first ever official participation where the two players managed to qualify to the finals. This makes us very proud and we look forward to seeing new players taking part in the future.”– Ali al Slat (Head Of Media, Qatar National Team).

Led by team captain and Red Bull athlete Ahmad Al Meghessib playing alongside Jassim Eid, the Qatari National Team triumphed in a challenging but ultimately rewarding passage through the online qualifiers for the Middle East and Africa. It was a tough route to the final for our brilliant boys. Team Qatar defeated a number of major competitors in the qualifying rounds on their journey to the world’s biggest eSports stage. This included facing worthy opponents from neighbouring countries including the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The eSports scene is growing across the region, so competition victory against our neighbours is always hard fought. They also beat a skilled South African team to head to the next level.

FACT took some time to chat to our eSports hot shots and asked these two successful athletes to give us some insights into their approach to training and competition, especially during the Holy Month of Ramadan, their winning team dynamics as well as their individual choices of playing platforms.

FACT: As successful e-Sports athletes, how did the past month of Ramadan impact your training and your competitive game focus, while observing the fast?

Jassim al Eid: It was a really nice experience actually. It wasn’t easy to play while fasting but somehow in a roundabout way, it helped me focus more. FIFA is a mental game, so it was really great to see Ahmad and I coping while fasting and still achieving great results. I’m really proud of it.

Ahmad Al Meghessib: Performing at our best during the holy month of Ramadan wasn’t an easy task. During fasting, it’s difficult to develop and to advance the team further. However, as a team player, you always have to give of your time and continue to put in the effort to get the best results no matter what.

FACT: Despite you playing on different platforms what is your personal chemistry and teamwork ethos like?

Jassim al Eid: It won’t be an issue hopefully. Ahmad and I are used to it and we are both very versatile when it comes to console gaming, so we have no issues and we will work as hard as we can, always.

Ahmad Al Meghessib: Chemistry was established on the spot. I’ve known Jassim for a while now and he’s an excellent player. He has the ability and skill to reach excellent levels in the game. We both work together to improve the performance of the team game play and take it to the next level. I’m happy that I was able to play the role of the coach/mentor and give some of my experience to my teammate.

Jassim al Eid gave us his personal insight on his specific skill set and his journey to the top

FACT: Tell us why Xbox play is your preferred platform and how you became one of the top 200 players in the world on it?

Jassim al Eid: Xbox became my preferred console on FIFA 18 because of a practical situation. The real reason was the internet connection at the time. I had an old PS4 and the 5g connection wasn’t working on it, so I used the Xbox one and it worked way better. Since then, I’ve just loved it and never went back to PS4. I became one of the top players by playing each weekend, gaining lots of practical game-time experience and getting high scores in the weekend league.

Ahmad Al Meghessib enlightened FACT on the format for the upcoming champs in Copenhagen.

FACT: We understand that you prefer LAN events. As a top international Red Bull athlete why do you favour this type of event?

Ahmad Al Meghessib: I’ve always performed well at LAN competitions. It’s therefore naturally always been my preferred choice. The format of the upcoming event is 2v2, which requires a high level of teamwork to achieve the best results. This is what both Jassim and I will work towards as we gear up for the world final in Denmark. It was gratifying to see how the duo is humble in victory yet confident in taking their next step up to the global arena. We wish you further success boys. ✤