Omar Adel is an avid fan of Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portugal team. - Supplied photo
Dubai - Gamers all over the UAE participated in the challenge held at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai.
Published: Tue 17 Jul 2018, 12:00 AM
Last updated: Tue 17 Jul 2018, 8:42 AM
While France got to raise the prestigious World Cup in a glorious win on Sunday night, an Iraqi football fan in Dubai emerged victorious at the EA Sports FIFA 18 Challenge.
An avid video gamer and a final year MBBS student at the Ras Al Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University, Omar Adel walked away with a whopping Dh50,000 prize money for coming on top in the e-gaming championship. Omar's win in the tournament is a special one as he dedicated his victory to his late father Dr Adil Mansoor, a cardiac surgeon who was killed during the 2006 invasion of Iraq.
Gamers all over the UAE participated in the challenge held at the Mall of the Emirates and City Centre Mirdif on Saturday. Before the finals, the malls invited football fans to take the hot seat for interactive games every day, from June 23 until July 14. This year, the malls upped the challenge by designing the zone in a way that 26 gamers could play simultaneously with other participants at the mall.
Omar told Khaleej Times: "I plan on giving the winnings to my mother, Dr Lujain Matab. She will mostly use it to fund our school fees." The 22-year-old was born in Baghdad. However, his four sisters and their mother fled Baghdad a few weeks after their father was killed in the city. They have been living in the UAE since.
Speaking about his love for gaming, Omar said: "I started gaming in 2013 and began playing competitively in 2015." The former student of Al Dawha School in Ajman said he doesn't mind juggling gaming and studies as he can manage time well.
"My mother is very proud that I won the tournament. She encourages my gaming because she knows I manage studies and gaming well," he said. Omar enjoys gaming and plays for an hour and a half every day. "I play for longer hours when I am competing," he added.
Omar is a die-hard fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. "I like football. Real Madrid is my team, and from the national teams, I support Portugal. It is my biggest dream to meet him someday. Though for the championship, I played France."
A tribute to father murdered in Iraq
Omar Adel, who won the EA Sports FIFA 18 Challenge, dedicated his victory to his late father Dr Adil Mansoor, a cardiac surgeon who was killed during the 2006 invasion of Iraq.
According to Omar, medical professionals and academics were targeted, abducted and then killed in Iraq during the war since 2003. "On the evening of September 2, 2006, when my father didn't return home on time and his phone was switched off, we realised something was wrong."
Omar was only 11 years old when the grief-struck family moved to the UAE, where his mother found work in as a family medicine practitioner at the Mushrif Medical Centre in Ajman. "My mother raised us. My older sisters are in the medical profession as well. One is doing dentistry and another is doing pharmacology. My remaining two sisters are in school," he explained. After graduating from medical school, Omar wants to become a surgeon, just like his father.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
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