The inaugural edition of Electronic Qatar Stars League 2024 (E-QSL) started on Thursday evening, March 21, 2024, at the Virtuocity Hall in Doha Festival City mall, with the participation of 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League’s 12 teams.
The opening day’s competitions featured Group A teams – Al Shamal, Al Duhail, Muaither, Al Gharafa, Qatar SC and Al Sadd.
A total of 15 matches were played and the results were as follows:
Al Sadd bt Al Shamal 6-1
Al Gharafa lost to Muaither 2-3
Al Duhail bt Qatar SC 6-2
Al Gharafa bt Al Duhail 6-1
Qatar SC lost to Al Sadd 1-8
Muaither drew Al Shamal 3-3
Al Shamal lost to Qatar SC 0-4
Muaither bt Al Duhail 3-1
Al Sadd bt Al Gharafa 5-4
Muaither bt Al Sadd 3-2
Qatar SC lost to Al Gharafa 3-7
Al Duhail lost to Al Shamal 3-4
Qatar SC drew Muaither 5-5
Al Sadd bt Al Duhail 5-2
Al Shamal bt Al Gharafa 3-2
The first four teams – Al Sadd (12 points), Muaither (11), Al Shamal (seven) and Al Gharafa (six) – qualified for the quarterfinals. Qatar SC and Al Duhail ended up with four and three points respectively in fifth and sixth place and exited the tournament.
Group B matches (15) will be played on Friday, March 22, 2024, with another set of four teams making it to the quarterfinals.
The knockout stage (quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place play-off and final) is scheduled for Saturday, March 23, 2024.
The winner will represent Qatar in the qualifiers for 2024 Electronic Sports World Cup for clubs.
It may be noted that the E-QSL is a new initiative that aims to open new horizons for the QSL and club companies to enter the field of e-sports and keep pace with the tremendous development of this game, in addition to support the Qatari e-sports team, expand the base of participation in society, and refine and develop talent in this sport, which is of interest to a large section of fans, especially youngsters.