ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish esports team representing the Kurdistan Region and Iraq advanced to the Survival Stage of the PUBG Mobile World Cup in Paris after a stronger performance on Sunday lifted it to 20th place overall.
Competing as 721 GSE Sports at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, the four-player team from the Kurdistan Region earned more points in a single match on Sunday than it had throughout its entire opening-day campaign.
The result lifted the team from the lower end of the 32-team field and kept it in contention for the $3 million tournament, which runs through August 16.
The team did not secure direct qualification for the Grand Finals, which are reserved for the top five teams from each group.
Player Masrour told Rudaw’s Zinar Shino, however, that the team remained confident it could progress through the next stage.
“Today we had very good results, but yesterday wasn’t like that,” Masrour said. “If we had played yesterday like we did today, we would be in the finals right now. But God willing, we will be better in the next stage.”
Iraqi and Kurdish supporters at the Paris event continued to rally behind the team, while some also offered suggestions on how it could improve its strategy.
“In the upcoming matches, they need to be a bit more aggressive rather than playing defensively,” said Muheeb al-Rubaie, a fan attending the event.
“When they play aggressively and communicate well, they deliver a much better performance. We wish them all the best and support them whether they win or lose,” he added.
The 11-day competition is also subject to age-rating guidelines set by organizers for attendance and participation, based on the content and violence levels of the video games being played.
“Each of the different games we have, we have different variants of violent intensity. And for that, we don’t allow specific ages to attend or watch those tournaments or even play,” said Faisal Bin Homran, chief product officer at the Esports World Cup Foundation. “So it depends on the publisher. So I see it game per game. You’re allowed to watch with this age for this game or play … So we have, I would say, something for all.”
Under the tournament rules, teams finishing sixth through 13th in their respective groups advance to the Survival Stage, which will be held August 11-12.
721 GSE Sports will play 12 matches over the two days, with the top six teams advancing to the Grand Finals.
