Games of the Future approaches business end

ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)

The six-day Games of the Future Abu Dhabi reached its midway point, with clubs from across a host of disciplines discovering their quarterfinal opponents, while fans got their first glimpse of Phygital Shooter.CS 2, and Battle of Robots crowned its victor.

Held under the patronage of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Games of the Future is taking place inside ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi from December 18 to 23, demonstrating how sport and technology are converging to create engrossing, elite competition.

On the third day of action, fans got the chance to watch Phygital Shooter.CS 2 for the first time. Featuring two matches of Counter Strike 2 in a plant-the-bomb format, followed by one first-to-six match of physical laser tag, each club was put through the wringer, demanding extreme focus, physical activity, and accuracy.

The Battle of Robots final provided the sparks for rapt fans with Fierce Roc showcasing destructive power, repeatedly driving Team Cobalt into the sidewalls and flipping it forcefully into the air. Taking the victory, Fierce Roc will return home with a stunning trophy and the largest share of the $400,000 prize pool. “The final went according to plan,” said Yuchen Luo, captain of Fierce Roc.

“It was better than the semi-final and the quarter-final when we had some incidents, but we came through all the difficulties, and here we are now – champions. I knew we had to be very careful – my robot has energy to knock out the opponent, so I just needed to find the right time and deliver the biggest hit. With this prize money, we can now build an even better robot.”

In Phygital Basketball.3on3 FreeStyle, PBC Astana progressed to the quarter-final after defeating Derventa Esports Umbrella 39-26. Sardal Abashidze of PBC Astana, who triumphed in both the digital and physical stages, said, “We enjoyed every moment today – we won and are moving forward. Thank you to all the guys who support myself and my team always. Now we enjoy.”

PBC Astana will now face FlashBasket while Liga Pro Team take on Great Team Brazil, who made light work of the UzBig Team 37–21 on the LED-lit courts.

“We know that tomorrow’s match-up is probably the most difficult one in the tournament,” said Leo Branquinho on behalf of the Brazil team. “We know all their players from last year. We don’t know which tactics they will use yet, of course, but we are preparing some strategies that can be applied.”

Elsewhere, G-Unit beat Team Ghana 33-22 to set up a last-eight clash with Adria All Stars, while Moscowsky will face Interstellars after the latter came out on top against The Warriors 26-29.

In the MOBA Mobile.MLBB tournament, Dian Feng Yao Guai (DFYG) needed a little less than an hour to beat Team Vamos 2-1 and qualify for Sunday’s quarterfinals, where they will now face RRQ Hoshi. In a tightly contested best-of-three match-up, the two clubs split the opening rounds before a prolonged third game ended with DFYG claiming the victory.

Kenneth Marcello of DFYG said, “We thought we would win in two rounds, but our opponents were very strong, so it went to a third. That shows how competitive the Games of the Future are, and we’re proud to come out with the win.”

In the second match-up, Verso Time defeated Homebois in a straight 2–0 series, with each round lasting less than 20 minutes. The fast-paced games demonstrated sharp drafting, flexible strategising and coordinated teamwork.