Medalists of the first Coliseo FIFA 2023 tournament. Photo: Orlando González

By Orlando González Cruz

Havana, April 30 (RHC)-- The first Coliseo FIFA 2023 tournament was held this Saturday in the capital's Ciudad Deportiva. The innovative competition, which was the result of the union between the Electronic Sports Association of Cuba and the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), was attended by 128 competitors, with Sergio Perez Garcia from Espiritu as the first champion in its history.

Sergio defeated Lázaro Rojas in the final, with a 3-0 scoreboard. With this victory, the representative of the central Cuban province earned the right to be among those chosen to represent Cuba in the Pan American Games of the discipline.

The competitive schedule featured 128 players who were eliminated by the KO system to move on to the round of 64, then to the round of 32 and so on, until only the two finalists remained "alive". The champion of the first Coliseo FIFA 2023 tournament was unbeatable in the grand final, and in the opening moments of the first half had already opened the scoring. A few minutes later, he widened the gap with a second goal and then, with the third goal, everything was decided in his favor.

Pérez García, who was also the first finalist, talked to RHC after catching his breath and wiping away his tears of happiness, as he was visibly moved.

"I thank God and my wife who accompanies me here, it has been a tremendous tournament, with an excellent organization. To be able to represent Cuba is an honor I never imagined, my parents and my friends have always supported me".

Among other personalities present at the Coliseum, Raúl Fornés Valenciano, First Vice-President of INDER; Omar Correa, Vice-President of the Union of Computer Scientists of Cuba; and the highest authorities of the Electronic Sports Association of the country, attended the Saturday competition.

In a conversation with RHC, the vice president of this association, Alexis Tristá Pacheco, commented on the importance of the union with INDER and expressed his satisfaction with the experience of the day.  

For his part, Correa said: "It is an important milestone, since it is the first time the tournament is held, in addition to being part of the Cuban sports movement, with all the formalities involved. We are looking for e-sports to become another federation within INDER. From this tournament will come out our representative to the Pan American Games in Chile 2023".