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Saudi Crown Prince Awards the Esports World Cup Champions

The Crown Prince crowns the Saudi club "Team Falcons" as champions of the Esports World Cup 2024 - SPA
The Crown Prince crowns the Saudi club "Team Falcons" as champions of the Esports World Cup 2024 - SPA
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Saudi Crown Prince Awards the Esports World Cup Champions

The Crown Prince crowns the Saudi club "Team Falcons" as champions of the Esports World Cup 2024 - SPA
The Crown Prince crowns the Saudi club "Team Falcons" as champions of the Esports World Cup 2024 - SPA

Under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the inaugural Esports World Cup successfully concluded on Sunday in Riyadh, SPA reported.
Over the past 8 weeks, clubs and players from across the globe came together in Riyadh to compete in the first-ever Esports World Cup. With a total prize pool of over $60 million, the event attracted around 500 teams and 1,500 professional players, marking it as the largest event in Esports history.
The Crown Prince crowned the Saudi club "Team Falcons" as champions of the Esports World Cup 2024. The Falcons secured a total of $7 million in prize money, emerging as the top club in this historic competition.
Team Falcons led the rankings with 5,665 points earned across 12 tournaments, achieving first place in both the "Call of Duty: Warzone" and "Free Fire" championships. This victory showcases the Kingdom’s exceptional national talent in the esports sector.
This event, uniting the gaming and esports community, brought together players, fans, game developers, and publishers from around the world, marking a significant milestone for the esports industry.
With its unique multi-game and multi-genre format, the competition not only featured tournaments among the world’s top clubs, but also strengthened efforts by various entities within the Kingdom and globally to advance the esports landscape. It highlighted the positive impact of esports on communities, enhanced cultural exchange, and encouraged brands to recognize esports as a promising and vital investment opportunity.
The Esports World Cup set record-breaking milestones. It attracted over two million visitors, contributing to over 29% increase in visitors to Riyadh during the event period compared to the same timeframe the previous year. The event also featured more than 32 side entertainment and cultural activities. Across its eight-week run, the Esports World Cup recorded more than 500 million viewers, totaling more than 250 million hours watched—setting a new global record for this year.

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Djokovic Seeks Record 25th Grand Slam Title after Getting Olympic Gold

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 24: Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks to the mediaahead of the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 24, 2024 in New York City. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 24: Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks to the mediaahead of the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 24, 2024 in New York City. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP
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Djokovic Seeks Record 25th Grand Slam Title after Getting Olympic Gold

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 24: Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks to the mediaahead of the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 24, 2024 in New York City. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 24: Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks to the mediaahead of the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 24, 2024 in New York City. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP

As big a deal as finally winning an Olympic gold medal was to Novak Djokovic, as much as he has accomplished in tennis — the men's-record 24 Grand Slam trophies, the 99 total titles, the most weeks at No. 1 for any player and on and on — do not for a moment think he is satisfied as the U.S. Open begins.
“People would ask me: ‘Now that you have basically won everything with the golden medal, what else is there to win?’ I still feel the drive. I still have the competitive spirit,” the 37-year-old from Serbia said Saturday. “I still want to make more history and enjoy myself on the tour.”
If it seems like there is always some sort of milestone in the offing when Djokovic takes the court, that's because there usually is.
This time around at Flushing Meadows, where play begins Monday and the No. 2-seeded Djokovic faces 138th-ranked Radu Albot of Moldova at night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, there is the latest opportunity to get major singles championship No. 25, a total no man or woman ever has reached in tennis.
As the defending champion, there is also a chance to become the first man to win at least two consecutive titles at the US Open since Roger Federer swept five in a row from 2004 to 2008.
“I didn’t know it was that long. Hopefully that changes this year,” Djokovic said. “I mean, that’s the goal. The goal is always for me to try to go all the way to the finals and fight for the trophy. That kind of mindset or approach is no different for me this year.”
That consistency of purpose is what has carried him to all of his achievements.
“I want to follow what Djokovic has done always in his career,” said Carlos Alcaraz, the 21-year-old who already owns four majors himself, “which is getting better and improving, showing up at the court playing at his best level.”
It's also as widely admired by other players in the sport as the numbers — “Colossal,” Alcaraz called the idea of winning a 25th major — associated with Djokovic's name.
“Your baseline average level just has to be so much better than everyone else’s. It speaks to how much better someone is than everyone else, because there are so many people just trying to get that one — trying to get one or two; a couple,” 12th-seeded American Taylor Fritz said, according to The Associated Press. “It’s amazing. And obviously the discipline throughout the year, to never be satisfied and always want more, is also just extremely impressive in itself.”
Djokovic hasn't competed anywhere since beating Alcaraz in a pair of tiebreakers in the Summer Games title match.
The way Djokovic reacted that day — kneeling, trembling, crying — and the way he spoke about it Saturday left no doubt about its importance to him.
“Just a very proud moment of experiencing the gold medal around my neck, with the Serbian anthem and Serbian flag. Very, very special. Probably the most intense emotions I have ever had on a tennis court,” he said. “The moment of when I achieved it, how I achieved it, after years of trying, the journey that was the way it was, I think makes it even more unique.”
And now it's time to turn the page and pursue more hardware.
The season stops for no one, and Djokovic is not interested in taking any kind of a break right now.
He's won the US Open on four occasions. Making that five is what is on his mind at the moment.
Consider: Djokovic is on the verge of his first year since 2017 without claiming at least one major trophy. He lost to Jannik Sinner — whose steroids case Djokovic weighed in on Saturday — in the semifinals of the Australian Open; withdrew from the French Open before the quarterfinals because he needed surgery on his right knee; lost to Alcaraz in the final at Wimbledon.
“Grand Slams are the pillars of our sport. They are THE most important historical tennis events that we have,” Djokovic said. “So if you don’t get pumped and inspired to play your best tennis at Grand Slams, it’s hard to do that anywhere else.”