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Pakistan penetrates top esports gaming echelon, giving hope to Mideast players

Players from areas not previously well known for esports areas are making names for themselves, providing encouragement to would-be champions in the Middle East.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 04: Arslan ‘Arslan Ash’ Siddique of vSlash eSports celebrates after winning the Tekken 7 grand championship during day three of the 2019 Evolution Championship Series at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on August 04, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
Arslan ‘Arslan Ash’ Siddique of vSlash eSports celebrates after winning the Tekken 7 grand championship during day three of the 2019 Evolution Championship Series at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, U.S., Aug. 04, 2019. — Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images

The esports world is continuing to grow, attracting players from some unexpected places around the globe.

Fate Esports recently hosted an unprecedented video gaming invitational in Jordan called Fate: Global Masters. The Nov. 5-6 event brought some of the best players in the world to face Jordan’s top competitors in Tekken (“Iron Fist”) 7, the latest in a series from Bandai Namco Entertainment. Famous South Korean players such as Rox Dragons' Knee (Jae-Min Bae) and Fate Esports' Ulsan (Lim Soo-hoon) faced each other in the grand finals, where Ulsan came out on top.

But the story of a two-time Evo (Evolution Championship Series) winner and Fate invitational participant and his Pakistani countrymen is perhaps even more exciting and inspiring. His success may encourage players, teams and the esports communities in more regions.

Early this year, a surprising story began in the Tekken 7 fighting game scene. For many years, South Korean players had been considered the world’s strongest in international Tekken 7 competitions. But that changed this year with the rise of the Pakistani fighting game scene.

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