The quarterfinal line-ups across several disciplines were confirmed on Saturday as the Games of the Future Abu Dhabi 2025 reached its halfway point at ADNEC Centre.
After three days of competition, clubs across phygital football, basketball, shooter games and mobile esports learned their next opponents, while Battle of Robots crowned its first champion of the week.
The six-day event, running until December 23, has brought together more than 850 competitors from 60 countries. It blends digital competition with physical sport across 11 disciplines, all staged inside ADNEC.
One of the standout moments on day three was the debut of Phygital Shooter.CS 2. The format combines Counter-Strike 2 matches in a plant-the-bomb setup with a live laser tag decider. xGoat opened with a 2–1 win over LIGA PRO TEAM, with veteran player Mikhail “Dosia” Stolyarov pointing to discipline and leadership as key factors after their first outing.
Battle of Robots drew a packed crowd for its evening programme. Team Cobalt edged past DS Robotics’ Godspeed by a single point in the opening semi-final. The second semi saw Fierce Roc’s Deep-Sea Shark advance after Daddy Bot was forced to retire with damage. The final was one-sided, with Deep-Sea Shark repeatedly flipping Cobalt to secure the title and the largest share of the tournament’s $400,000 prize pool.
Fierce Roc captain Yuchen Luo said the team recovered from earlier issues to deliver their cleanest performance when it mattered most.
In Phygital Basketball 3×3 Freestyle, PBC Astana moved into the quarterfinals with a 39–26 win over Derventa Esports Umbrella. They will face FlashBasket next, while GREAT TEAM BRAZIL set up a meeting with LIGA PRO TEAM after beating UzBig Team 37–21.
The MOBA Mobile.MLBB competition also confirmed its last eight. DianFengYaoGuai progressed after a 2–1 win over Team Vamos and will meet RRQ Hoshi. Verso Time advanced with a straight-sets win against Homebois and now face Aurora Gaming.
Phygital football continued to deliver tight finishes. RFSO Lokomotiv beat Granny Smith 5–3 on aggregate, with Robert Fakhretdinov scoring in both the digital and physical stages. Z10 overturned a digital defeat to beat UEL TEAM on the pitch and reach the quarterfinals.
The quarterfinal match-ups on December 21 include Troncos FC v RFSO Lokomotiv, CM Jardim v Z10, México Quetzales v CM Stars and Peñarol v La Crema FC.
The Games of the Future Abu Dhabi 2025 continues through December 23, with competition spread across esports, robotics and hybrid sport formats inside ADNEC Centre
