A professional League of Legends player, streamer, and content creator of the leading eSports organization in Egypt, Anubis Gaming: this is Mohamed Magdy Soliman’s bio, popularly known as “Rated.” He is also a member of the Egyptian National eSports team. How did he accomplish so much in a short period? In this interview, Mohamed shares his journey toward becoming one of the most recognized players in the Middle East.
Q: Mr. Soliman, thank you for speaking to us today. How does it feel to become the Intel Arabian Cup winner?
A: Thanks for inviting me here today. Well, it still feels like a dream, honestly. Becoming the best team out of 1,000 other brilliant teams, it’s outrageous and unbelievable. For gamers, it’s like winning the World Cup, you know. It’s that big for the rest of my team and me.
Q: We can understand how you must be feeling. How did you prepare for this tournament? Did you do anything different this time?
A: Our coach gave us different responsibilities according to our skills. Previously, we were confused with our playstyle, we didn’t know who and which strong side to play around. And that was not working for us. This time we tried a lot of different strategies in-game, we tried playing through Top, Bot and we just figured that playing through top works better for us. Though, Dattura & Fev3r played a very important role and did a very good job playing weakside most of the time and still being fairly impactful in the games.
Q: Can you talk us through the registration process of this tournament? Or how did the organizers select the final teams?
A: The organizers have a fair way to decide the final participants. First, a team needs to register for the national competition. Once you register, you get to know your qualifier dates. Your team must win the qualifiers to move to the next stage. We think the qualifiers are the toughest. The competition is fierce, and every team has equal chances of winning. Once you qualify, you know the final teams. You can recall the strategies you had planned to implement against them. The last eight teams go head-to-head, and one emerges as the winner.
Q: Apart from winning the tournament, what do you think defines the Intel Arabian Cup?
A: I think it’s the fact that you are representing your country that matters the most. We are proud to represent Egypt. There are hardly any teams that participate from here. Anubis Gaming was the first Egyptian team in League of Legends in 2016. It shows that we are not far behind the leaders. And to win the competition is a statement that Egypt can also win such big tournaments.
Q: Do you have any message for your fans and aspiring professional LoL gamers?
A: Don’t be impatient. You cannot expect to win in your first tournament. Consider them as your practice sessions because they help you gain experience. Use that experience to overcome the challenges you face as you move along in your journey, and you will eventually find your way to success.
Thank you again, Mr. Soliman. We wish you the best in your participation in future competitions. We are sure that Anubis Gaming will win more tournaments and make Egypt proud.