Overwatch is preparing for a major event this week. Held at the Esports World Cup in 2024, this tournament is independent and not a part of the regular OWCS event.
This competition is a part of the larger EWC, which has experienced significant growth this year. However, not everyone is thrilled about the whole event; one player in particular withdrew for moral grounds. Masaa has made the decision not to compete in the Overwatch competition during the Esports World Cup.
Masaa has declared that he will not be attending this next event. The Esports World Cup features a ton of games, but Overwatch plays a significant part. The athlete gave a justification for his decision to withdraw from competition this time.
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The MASAA World Cup Will Not See MASAA Playing
Masaa has made the decision to withdraw from the Esports World Cup of Overwatch. In a recent stream, the player discussed his opinions on the incident, mentioning in particular how Saudi Arabia is involved.
MASAA has made the deliberate decision not to try because of the problems with LGBT rights in Saudi Arabia in addition to other moral differences with the government.
Saudi Arabia has been more and more entwined in esports in recent years. Although withdrawing from events such as these is a commendable act, it is quite challenging to be an esports player and not participate in tournaments controlled by Saudi Arabia.
Even the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, FACEIT, oversees the biggest Overwatch professional league, the OWCS. Recently, MASAA participated in an OWCS competition organized by FACEIT at the DreamHack event, which is also owned by Saudis.
A prime example of Saudi Arabia’s recent esports funding is the Esports World Cup. But their involvement in the esports industry goes well beyond that; they own everything from organizations to portions of esports game developers like EA.
It’s commendable that athletes are attempting to raise awareness of these issues through their participation. However, it will be difficult to participate in esports in 2024 without coming into contact with Saudi-owned entities. Their involvement in the field has grown too extensive to ignore.