Inconsistent Al-Hilal drop more points with time running out for title hopes
DAMMAM: Second-place Al-Hilal fell further behind in the Saudi Pro League title race on Friday as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Ettifaq.
Dubai Sport News
SEF arena inauguration heralds exciting new era for Saudi esports
RIYADH: Esports in Saudi Arabia is set for an exciting new era following the official opening of the new SEF Arena.
Norris turns on the heat at sweltering Bahrain practice
SAKHIR: World championship leader Lando Norris topped the timesheets in a baking hot opening practice ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday. It was hunt-some-shade time on a sweltering afternoon in the Gulf kingdom — 35 degrees celsius and track temperature nudging 50 degrees. As a consequence the relevance of the opening session on the rest of the weekend will be minimal, with second practice later Friday, Saturday’s qualifying and the race itself all staged at sunset and in cooler temperatures. That was one main factor in teams using ‘FP1’ to give a half dozen rookies a shot as a ‘Friday driver’ as per the governing body’s guidelines. As a result, four-time world champion Max Verstappen, one point adrift of Norris in the driver’s standings after his win in Japan last weekend, had some down time with Ayumua Iwasa taking the wheel of his Red Bull. Dino Beganovic was handed the keys to Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. Other new faces were Fred Vesti (in for Mercedes’ George Russell), Luke Browning (Williams/Carlos Sainz), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin/Fernando Alonso) and Ryo Hirakawa, in for Ollie Bearman at Haas. Williams team principal James Vowles explained the reasoning behind running Browning rather than Sainz, third to Verstappen in last year’s race for Ferrari. “It’s much, much warmer than it will be so it is unrepresentative, and (Sainz) has done many hundreds of kilometers around here.
Dubai World Cup 2025 sets new attendance record
DUBAI: The 29th edition of the Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse last weekend attracted a crowd of more than 65,000 racing enthusiasts to set a new record for the venue.
Meet Ali Al-Shabeeb, the Geordie Saudi who scored at Wembley and dreams of SPL move
LONDON: When Ali Al-Shabeeb starts talking, his Geordie accent is unmistakable. Although he was born in Dammam, Al-Shabeeb left Saudi Arabia when he was 8 years old to move with his family to Newcastle. He went to school there, stayed in the northeast of England to go to Northumbria University, and now plays football there too, for FC Darlington.
Esports World Cup to feature record $70m prize pool in return to Riyadh
RIYADH: The Esports World Cup Foundation announced on Thursday a record-breaking prize pool of more than $70 million for the 2025 edition of the Esports World Cup, which returns to Riyadh from July 7 to Aug. 24. The pot is the largest in esports history, solidifying the EWC’s reputation as the ultimate global stage for competitive gaming and a key driver of long-term industry sustainability. The massive increase in prize money, which is up $10 million from last year’s inaugural event, is driven by the foundation’s ambition to provide life-changing opportunities for players and clubs, while fostering stable and scalable careers across the esports ecosystem, organizers said. “The record-breaking $70+ million prize pool, along with our commitment to the Club Partner Program and our multi-year publisher agreements, is a privilege to announce and validation of our purpose to elevate the industry, by giving players, clubs, publishers and all other stakeholders the stability needed to invest for future success,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation. “While more than $70 million is an incredible, life-changing sum, it’s always aligned with a long-term vision rather than short-term impact.
PFL MENA announces fight card for 2025 opening event in Jeddah
JEDDAH: The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced the fight card for the opening event of the 2025 PFL MENA season, which will take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, May 9, 2025.
Rahul shines as Delhi Capitals bag fourth straight win in IPL
BENGALURU: KL Rahul smashed an unbeaten 93 as Delhi Capitals beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets to maintain their winning streak in the Indian Premier League on Thursday. Rahul, 32, hit six sixes and seven fours in his scintillating 53-ball knock to help Delhi overhaul Bengaluru’s 163-7 with 13 balls to spare at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Tristan Stubbs chipped in with 38 not out and shared 111 runs with Rahul off just 56 balls to steer Delhi to their fourth consecutive win. Delhi now sit second in the table while Bengaluru are third in the 10-team competition. Bengaluru bowlers picked some early wickets but ran into the in-form Rahul who batted with composure and ease. Delhi had a wobbly start, losing openers Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk cheaply with just 10 runs on the board. Captain Axar Patel tried to steady the innings but holed out to Tim David off impact sub Suyash Sharma for 15. Stubbs said the win was “really satisfying.” “I came in a tricky situation, but the run-rate never got out of hand,” he said. “I did not need to do much — KL played the way he did.” Earlier, Bengaluru were off to a flier, with openers Virat Kohli and Phil Salt taking the attack to the opposition. The duo smashed 30 runs in the third over off Mitchell Starc before guiding Bengaluru to the fastest team 50 of the season. The batting assault ended when Salt (37) was run-out after a mix-up and Kohli (22) lobbed a catch to Starc who dived forward to take a fine catch at long-off. Salt hit three sixes and four fours in his 17-ball knock. Bengaluru lost regular wickets after the twin setbacks, with Delhi left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav picking two, including the scalp of captain Rajat Patidar for 25. David