Omar Moughrabi grew up looking to professional gamer Maroun Merhej as proof of how far a Lebanese esports player could go. Known as GH, Merhej won Dota 2’s biggest title and has earned more prize money than any player in Lebanon’s history.
Now the two are teammates and – against expectations – are helping carry Abu Dhabi's Nigma Galaxy towards a possible Esports World Cup title.
The team has swept four of its five group-stage opponents and won nine of 10 maps to reach the Dota 2 quarter-finals, putting it within three victories of becoming the first organisation from the UAE to win an Esports World Cup competition.
“It sounds weird to say it now, measuring myself against him, but before I became a professional player, I used to measure myself against this guy right here,” Moughrabi, known in competition as OmaR, tells The National about GH.
“He inspired me a lot. My dream was to reach his stage and maybe face him. I’m very happy that I ended up playing with him.”
The Esports World Cup runs in Paris until August 23, bringing together more than 2,000 players from 200-plus clubs and more than 100 countries. Competitors are taking part in 25 tournaments across 24 games, with a total prize pool of more than $75 million.
Nigma Galaxy swept L1GA Team, Team Liquid, Level UP and PlayTime, and drew 1–1 with Aurora Gaming, giving them nine victories from 10 maps and direct passage into the final eight.
“We’re doing really well in the tournament so far, so we’re excited for the next step, which is the main stage,” says GH. “We’re looking forward to what happens next.”
The run is Nigma’s strongest international Dota 2 performance in some time. The UAE organisation operates from Abu Dhabi and has worked with Abu Dhabi Gaming, the government-backed initiative established to support gaming companies, players and developers in the emirate.
OmaR joined during a difficult period for the roster.
“We haven’t had [brilliant] results in almost three years, during my time in Nigma,” he says. “But all this time, they’ve been very supportive. We were always trying to push each other to become better. I would say we’re at a good place right now.”
GH points to the strategies developed with their coach, strong individual performances and the ability to speak openly about problems inside and outside the game.
“We have really good synergy,” he says. “We have a good relationship, and being able to discuss everything that’s happening inside and outside the game gives us a lot of advantages.”
Maroun says Nigma’s run has come from several factors aligning at once, including the current version of the game and the relationships built during practice days that can stretch up to 12 hours.
“It’s refreshing to have someone you can speak your home language with,” GH says. “Speaking English all the time is a bit rough because it’s our second or third language.
“The glimpse of home that I feel is with him.”
The friendship has continued away from their computers. GH has been trying to persuade OmaR to join him at the gym, an effort the younger player says he is slowly beginning to embrace.
Both began playing in Lebanon, where neither had an established route into a professional career. GH started when he was nine in an internet cafe near his home, while OmaR followed his two older brothers into Dota.
GH’s family initially had little reason to view gaming as a viable profession. His older brother helped clear the path, and as GH moved deeper into competition, he was able to show them that esports could offer a genuine career.
OmaR says younger Lebanese people now understand professional gaming, although many still see the country's circumstances and the difficulty of competing internationally as major barriers. Older generations are a different story,
“Whenever I have to define what my career or profession is to anyone, at least from my own country, at first they’re always shocked or surprised,” he says.
“They ask: ‘What are you actually doing? What is this?’ But most of them eventually realise it’s a positive thing.”
GH went on to win The International with Team Liquid in 2017 before helping to establish Team Nigma with several members of that championship roster in 2019. The organisation later became Nigma Galaxy and developed its base and partnerships in the UAE.
His six years with the wider organisation have included tournament victories, difficult seasons and early eliminations.
“This team taught me how to accept losses and bad days in a good way,” GH says. “It’s hard sometimes to accept things like losing, getting kicked out of a tournament or not getting first place.
“My time in this organisation helped me realise how to handle these kinds of moments.”
That patience has now carried Nigma into the Esports World Cup quarter-finals. OmaR describes the tournament as the second most important event in the Dota 2 calendar after The International.
A title would be Nigma Galaxy’s biggest international Dota 2 result in years and a high-profile success for an organisation rooted in Abu Dhabi.
The team’s run comes as the Gulf expands its role in esports beyond hosting tournaments. Abu Dhabi has sought to attract gaming companies and professional teams, while Saudi Arabia’s Esports World Cup Foundation is preparing to hold the inaugural Esports Nations Cup in Riyadh later this year.
GH believes the Arab world still lacks the structures found in more established gaming markets. Players need investment, development, public acceptance and a clearer route into international competition.
“The gaming scene in the Arab world is still a bit of a dwarf right now, comparatively,” he says. “We need some time for everyone to accept that gaming is an actual sport.
“People from my country, Lebanon to Jordan, Egypt and the UAE, need a bit of time and motivation to understand that this is a new sport and they should invest more in it, whether it’s time, funding or whatever it may be.”
He sees considerable potential in the region’s supporters, particularly if competitions can give them teams tied directly to national identity.
The Esports Nations Cup, which begins on November 2, will introduce national teams alongside the club-based model used at the Esports World Cup. GH believes the format could help audiences connect with competitive gaming more immediately.
“It stops being clubs like Nigma Galaxy or someone else, and it becomes Team Lebanon, Team Jordan or Team UAE,” he says. “There’s a bit more patriotism involved. I think this is a move in the correct direction, as it will make the game more accessible, the same way football's World Cup unites people who are not fans of the game.”
For now, GH and OmaR are proud to represent their Abu Dhabi team. And this will determine not only whether Nigma Galaxy’s dominant group stage becomes its biggest international Dota 2 run, but also whether a UAE team, against the odds, can dominate against players from across the world, which could inspire new fans, both young and old.
Nigma Galaxy competes in the Esports World Cup Dota 2 quarter-finals on Thursday
