The world's biggest-ever esports tournament, Gamers Without Borders (GWB), had a sprinkling of Premier League stardust last week as Tottenham playmaker Dele Alli fired up Fortnite as part of a global campaign which will donate an incredible $10 million (£8m) to charities in the fight against the spread of coronavirus.
The England international is a keen gamer, regularly streaming his virtual escapades on Twitch, and he teamed up with his Spurs team-mate Kyle Walker-Peters - who is currently on loan at Southampton - for the unprecedented esports initiative, which saw the pair pit their wits against 49 of the best duos in the world on Fortnite.
The eventual winners of the Fortnite tournament, a teenage duo from Germany, donated $300,000 to UNICEF, and you can see the highlights here.
"Proud to join the Gamers Without Borders tournament," Alli said on Twitter when his participation was confirmed, before expressing just a little trepidation at the prospect of facing the Fortnite pros.
“I feel a lot more nervous playing in this than I do in stadiums! I think because I’m more used to that as obviously I grew up playing football. It’s very tough. They’re very good but I’m trying!”
Next Match
Over $6.5 million (£5.3m) has already been won by the gamers, with the likes of UNICEF, the International Medical Corps (IMC), International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance to the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), Direct Relief and Norwegian Refugee Council all benefiting thanks to the efforts of their esports patrons.
The GWB tournament, organized by the Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS), kicked off on April 24 and will run until June 7, with a remarkable 120,000 gamers from 72 different countries already being united online across the four weeks as GWB aims to unite gamers around the world in response to Covid-19.
As well as Alli in England, gaming enthusiasts and pros from Somalia, Australia, South Korea, Afghanistan, Germany and more have all taken part.
Prize money won in the tournament is donated to various different charities that are at the front line of the battle with Covid-19 across the world. Additionally, any revenue that is raised by the tournament through sponsorship will also be distributed to those same charitable organisations.
While the Spurs stars played the popular game Fortnite, the tournament also sees gamers showcase their skills on Call of Duty, Dota 2, Rainbow Six: Siege and more, with showdowns being broadcast live on the various GWB social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and Huya.
The tournament has already attracted over 42 million views so far and feeds are available in seven different languages.
As well as watching the tournament online, anyone who is interested in helping directly can also make donations themselves through the Gamers Without Borders website, and, if you are looking to get better at a particular game yourself, there is also an opportunity to further hone your skills with a series of free-to-all training sessions, webinars and competitions.
Alli and Walker-Peters are not the only high-profile footballers who love a game of Fortnite during their downtime away from training and matches, with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Mesut Ozil and Zlatan Ibrahimovic also dabbling in the game.
The Spurs playmaker has also played Fortnite with his Spurs team-mate Harry Kane, Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, while the England squad were said to have been hooked during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
For more information on the Gamers Without Borders esports tournament, which will run until June 7, visit: www.gamerswithoutborders.com