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Saudi Crown Prince Crowns Team Falcons as Winners of Esports World Cup 2025 

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presents the Team Falcons leader with the trophy. (SPA)
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presents the Team Falcons leader with the trophy. (SPA)
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Saudi Crown Prince Crowns Team Falcons as Winners of Esports World Cup 2025 

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presents the Team Falcons leader with the trophy. (SPA)
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presents the Team Falcons leader with the trophy. (SPA)

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, attended on Sunday the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup 2025 in Riyadh, during which he crowned “Team Falcons” as champion.

Team Falcons topped the tournament standings with 5,200 points, securing the grand prize of $7 million out of a total prize pool exceeding $70 million - the largest in the history of global esports. The prizes were distributed among teams, players, and participants according to their tournament rankings.

The Crown Prince’s presence at the event reflects his continued and substantial support for the gaming and esports sector through a comprehensive framework of regulations and initiatives driven by the National Gaming and Esports Strategy, which he launched in 2022.

The strategy aims to build a globally competitive and sustainable sector and achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. It serves as a key pillar for creating 39,000 jobs, contributing up to SAR50 billion to GDP by 2030, supporting the establishment of startups, and attracting global investment in gaming and esports.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the closing ceremony. (SPA)

CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation Ralf Reichert praised the Crown Prince’s support for the tournament, stressing that the Kingdom succeeded in creating a unique global experience that combined diverse games, strong competitions, attractive entertainment activities, global attendance, and vast online viewership.

The seven-week tournament witnessed broad participation from clubs and players from countries across the globe, alongside unprecedented audience and media attendance. A total of 2,000 professional players competed in 200 clubs from 100 countries across 25 tournaments featuring the world’s most popular esports titles.

The tournament gained a distinctly global character and set records in multiple areas, including the number of tournaments, prize value, and audience engagement.

The Esports World Cup originated from a Saudi initiative announced by Crown Prince Mohammed in 2023, with Riyadh hosting its first edition in 2024 to great international success. This paved the way for the 2025 edition, which was organized at an unprecedented technical and organizational level.

Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo with the tournament trophy at the closing ceremony. (SPA)

By hosting this exceptional tournament, the Kingdom has strengthened its advanced global position in gaming and esports, delivering a unique experience that combined competition with innovation and boosted performance indicators. The tournament recorded a 53% rise in ticket sales, a 40% increase in average content demand, and a 64% growth in international sales.

Moreover, competitions were broadcast in 35 languages to over 100 countries, in a global media production that reflected the scale of organization and level of participation.

Over the course of the tournament, the Boulevard Riyadh City welcomed more than 3 million visitors. At the same time, over 750 million viewers worldwide followed the competitions through digital platforms, with a total watch time exceeding 350 million hours. The accompanying events featured more than 1,500 community, cultural, and entertainment activities.

With the conclusion of the Esports World Cup 2025, Riyadh continues to cement its position as a global capital of esports, adding another achievement to the Kingdom’s record of international successes. This further supports the development goals of the sports and entertainment sectors and drives digital transformation to broader horizons.

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Gulf

Southern Yemen Leaders Seek Just Solutions at Upcoming Dialogue Conference in Riyadh

Yemeni officials are seen at the consultative meet in in Riyadh on Sunday. (Reuters)
Yemeni officials are seen at the consultative meet in in Riyadh on Sunday. (Reuters)
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Southern Yemen Leaders Seek Just Solutions at Upcoming Dialogue Conference in Riyadh

Yemeni officials are seen at the consultative meet in in Riyadh on Sunday. (Reuters)
Yemeni officials are seen at the consultative meet in in Riyadh on Sunday. (Reuters)

A consultative meeting on southern Yemen was held in Riyadh on Sunday, marking a return of the southern issue to the forefront of the regional scene. The meeting brought together leaderships, elders and senior figures from the South.

Saudi Arabia has been exerting firm efforts to steer the southern issue clear of political tensions and open conflicts and more towards dialogue that would lead to just solutions that would resolve pending disputes.

Sunday's meeting paves the way for a conference on southern Yemen hosted by Riyadh as part of its efforts to support a comprehensive political solution that tackles the southern issue and boosts security and stability in Yemen and the region.

The meeting was held amid unprecedented complications in Yemen and political, security and economic challenges facing the South. At the upcoming Riyadh conference, the gatherers will aim to reach a common vision on the South that is based on dialogue away from escalation and violence.

A closing statement following the consultative talks said the meeting reflects the South's collective will to reach a "just, secure and sustainable solution to the Southern issue."

A political path based on dialogue is the only way to avert more divisions and internal conflicts in the South, said the statement read by Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) member Abou Zaraa Al-Mahrami.

The participants "sensed during their direct meetings with Saudi leaderships and officials clear unconditional support for the legitimate demands of the southerners, starting with their right to reach a comprehensive political solution that ensures their dignity, security and stability," it added.

This path ensures the southerners' right to determine their political fate through a mechanism that does not marginalize any party, it went on to say.

The statement underscored "the southerners' options, including shaping the state and its political future, are their rights and their rights alone."

The upcoming Riyadh dialogue is a "rare historic opportunity" to set the southern issue back on the right path, said the statement, warning against attempts to undermine this opportunity by sparking side conflicts that serve regional parties that want chaos to persist.

Observers have said that the southern issue had been greatly undermined by controversial political and financial practices and by parties placing their own interests above national ones.

Saudi Arabia's sponsorship of the cause has one again returned it to the forefront in Yemen and made it an indispensable part of a comprehensive political solution in the country, they continued.

The statement called on the international community to support the renewed efforts related to the southern issue and to respect the aspirations of the southerners, saying this is critical to any comprehensive and sustainable settlement.

Commenting on the demonstrations that had taken place in the interim capital Aden, the statement said they reflect legitimate popular demands related to the southern issue and difficult living conditions.

The gatherers in Riyadh were also severely critical of Abu Dhabi's role in Yemen. Observers have said that the United Arab Emirates' role in supporting certain parties and not others helped deepen divisions in the South, prolong chaos and obstruct a comprehensive political solution.

The observers noted international reports that detected a similar approach adopted by the UAE in other countries, such as Sudan, Libya and Somalia, where its backing of local factions deepened crises instead of resolving them.

They contrasted this with Saudi Arabia's approach that supports the state, dialogue, stability and development.

The observers warned that the persistence of foreign meddling that deepens divisions in Yemen may force Riyadh to take a firmer stance to protect dialogue, to ensure that counter-terrorism efforts are not undermined and to achieve security and stability in Yemen.

Gulf

Saudi Leadership Extends Condolences to Thailand over Victims of Crane Collapse on Train

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA)
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Saudi Leadership Extends Condolences to Thailand over Victims of Crane Collapse on Train

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. (SPA)

The Saudi leadership extended condolences on Sunday to King of Thailand over the victims of a crane accident that fell onto a train in northeastern Thailand killing tens and injuring several.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques sent a cable to King of Thailand, Maha Vajiralongkorn, offering his deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to the families of the deceased, and the Thai people, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, sent a similar cable to the Thai king.

He extended his deepest condolences to the king, the families of the deceased, and the Thai people.

Gulf

Saudi Arabia Welcomes Agreement between Syrian Govt, SDF

People celebrate as Syrian government troops take control of the town from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Raqqa, northeastern Syria, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)
People celebrate as Syrian government troops take control of the town from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Raqqa, northeastern Syria, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)
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Saudi Arabia Welcomes Agreement between Syrian Govt, SDF

People celebrate as Syrian government troops take control of the town from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Raqqa, northeastern Syria, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)
People celebrate as Syrian government troops take control of the town from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Raqqa, northeastern Syria, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP)

Saudi Arabia welcomed on Monday the ceasefire agreement between the Syrian government and Syrian Democratic Forces that was reached on Sunday.

A Saudi Foreign Ministry statement hoped the deal would help bolster security and stability and build state institutions to meet the Syrian people's aspirations for development and prosperity.

The statement reiterated the Kingdom's full support for the Syrian government's efforts to boost civil peace and preserve Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Syrian government Sunday announced a ceasefire with the SDF, taking almost full control of the country and dismantling the Kurdish-led forces that controlled the northeast for over a decade.

The agreement includes dismantling the SDF and having its forces join Syria’s military and security forces, while senior military and civilian officials would be given high-ranking positions in state institutions.

The SDF would have to give up the Raqqa and Deir Ezzor provinces to the Syrian military and government, as well as its border crossings and oil and gas fields.