(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Chinthana Wasala |
The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Al Wakrah and Al Ahli brought their on-field rivalry to the digital screen when the two Qatar football heavyweights booked their places in the final of the inaugural Electronic Qatar Stars League (E-QSL) 2024, yesterday.
Al Wakrah, the only unbeaten team in the tournament, stormed into the final with a dominant 5-0 win over Al Shamal at the Virtuocity Hall, Doha Festival City Mall last night, while Al Ahli finally applied breaks to Al Sadd's impressive run with a 5-3 win to advance. The final was scheduled early this morning.
Yesterday's quarter-finals featured exciting confrontations. Al Sadd, who had topped Group A to reach the last-eight, defeated Al Rayyan 5-4 to make it to the semi-finals, while Muaither lost to Al Ahli 1-4.
Al Wakrah, the Group B leaders, crushed Al Gharafa 6-1 to advance to the semis, while Al Shamal overcame Al Markhiya 4-3 in a thriller to book the remaining slot in the last four.
Earlier, in the group stage of the tournament which featured the 2023-2024 Expo Stars League, Al Wakrah and Al Sadd led the charge in their respective, captivating gaming fans with several dominant performances at the popular gaming venue.
The quarter-finalists were decided in the early hours of yesterday, following a series of gripping matches.
Group A winners Al Sadd had amassed 12 points from four wins, defeating Al Shamal 6-1, Qatar SC 8-1, Al Gharafa 5-4 and Al Duhail 5-2 while suffering their only loss to Muaither (2-3). The loss to Al Sadd dragged Al Muaither to second place in the group (11 points). Joining them in the knockout stage were Al Shamal (7), and Al Gharafa (6).
In Group B, Al Wakrah showed their dominance, with the Blue Waves becoming the only undefeated side in the tournament.
Al Wakrah led the group with a stellar performance, collecting 13 points from four wins and a draw. They beat Al Ahli 7-1, Al Arabi 10-2, Al Rayyan 7-3 and Al Markhiya 5-3 while sharing points against Umm Salal after a 1-1 draw.
Al Wakrah were closely followed by Al Markhiya with nine points, Al Ahli with seven, and Al Rayyan rounding out the qualifiers with six points.
With the stage set for an epic final, the E-QSL 2024 had already proved to be a huge success, highlighting the growing popularity of virtual football and Qatar's vibrant eSports scene.
The teams competed in the hugely popular EA Sports-developed game, FC 24 one-on-one, taking the thrill of the football pitch onto a digital format.
MENAFN24032024000063011010ID1108014349
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.