Raef Alturkistani recently won the Saudi Esports Federation (SEF) Award for Best Fighting Game Player for the second year in a row. For the first time, he reveals his incredible career journey.
Dr. Raef Alturkistani chuckles when asked whether he truly saves lives by day and takes them by night.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I do!” says the 28-year-old.
It may sound dramatic, but his story is anything but ordinary.
A Jeddah native, Alturkistani recently completed his medical residency after earning his degree from King Abdulaziz University.
But beyond medicine, Alturkistani is a world-class Tekken player, recently clinching his second consecutive Saudi Esports Federation (SEF) Award for Best Fighting Game Player.
“That achievement means a lot for me because I won it back-to-back,” he says. “To win it for the second time in a row really is special. I completed my residency as a doctor and achieved so much in esports in the same year. That’s what makes me proud, and I hope I continue this in the future.”
His favorite esports moments in 2024 include finishing third at the Tekken World Tour Finals and securing fifth at the Evolution Championship Series (Evo) T8—achievements that cemented his global reputation.
“To come top five at Evo and in the world finals top three... that meant a lot,” Alturkistani, who stars for Dragon Esports, says. “They contributed to winning my second SEF Award. I have developed my career over the past years until I reached this position right now of being top three in the world.”
Alturkistani has been a gamer “since I was four, I think” and started playing fighting games professionally in 2018. Juggling medicine and esports is a masterclass in time management, but Alturkistani is proving that dedication to both can pay off.
“Sometimes you have to do your own priorities,” he reveals. “If you have a tournament coming, you have to prepare for it more, but if you have exams or things then you have to focus on your career. You have to balance it; you have to be stable and do your best at each thing when needed.
“Sometimes I play for one or two hours and sometimes I don’t play but I watch, and when I watch, I learn. If I’m on an airplane or something, I’ll watch to learn. It’s a continuous process.”
As if excelling in medicine and esports wasn’t enough, Alturkistani is also a decorated martial artist, having won silver in the 2018 Asian Games men’s kumite 75kg event.
“I’m a martial artist so I guess I can take lives in real life too!” the doctor and Tekken hero, who achieved his Asian Games karate triumph in Jakarta, Indonesia, quips.
His favorite Tekken character, the one he performs under, is Jin Kazama. Scarily, he can replicate his favorite move with Jin Kazama in real life. “It’s a good kick,” Alturkistani says. “I can do it myself in karate.”
For all Alturkistani’s individual success, he is very much a member of the gaming community and has no doubts from where the roots of Saudi Arabia’s surging prominence in the global esports scene originate.
“I’m really thankful for the Saudi Esports Federation,” Alturkistani says. “I’m really thankful for Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (the Chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation) for being here for us. Especially supporting the fighting games, it gives hope for me and the new generation that we can come up and become the best in the world. I want to be the best in the world.”
