Ahmad “Yousif” interview: One of the world’s best FPS players

The sky of esports is beginning to get filled with Arab stars who proved their excellence the past few years, as the internet made video games profession a possibility for the young Arab players. With local players like Amer “Miracle” Albarqawi reaching global stardom from inside the Middle East, to others making it big from abroad like Omar “W33” Aliwi, Arab players continue to prove they’re a force to be reckoned with, and “Yousif” is no different

• I am pleased to talk to you, “yousif”! First we would like to introduce our dear readers to yourself in a few lines, including the reason for choosing yousif as your professional name——

Hey all, i’m Ahmed “Yousif” a Professional player for Team Secret & a major esports fanatic. I never really chose the name Yousif. My brothers name is Yousif & he made a minecraft account one day called Yousif782. I started playing & i just stuck with the name as i kept gaming.

• Seeing local followers of an Arab name in a large organization is always a pleasure. The Arab representation globally is a matter of pride, and this is what we strive to see always increase. Can you talk a little bit about your career in e-sports from the time you started thinking about professionalism to your signature with Team Secret—-

I started off back when I first played Paladins. I am very competitive aswell so it was great playing against the top players. I then moved to PUBG & with that I kept building my experience & people kept seeing my name & I was always looking to improve. Once Apex legends came out I had about 3 years of FPS experience. It’s similar to a job. You need to always network & always build your experience to get a better job for yourself. Once I reached Apex legends I had a good resume to present. I kept building my relationship with them & they liked what i had to offer & therefore, they signed me.

• What made you choose Apex Legends from all the different shooting titles to be professional? Are there any other games you like to try every now and then?——

To me the best way to build your professional career is by playing a game that is just coming out. This way everyone is new & it comes down to whoever improves the fastest & wants to be the best. For example, I played PUBG when it first caneout then I switched to CoD blackout then Apex. As you can see I always played a game that is new because nothing is established yet so thats the best time to get your name out their & build an audience.

• In a parallel world where you have no Apex professionalism, what game would you have liked to be professional——

If I never went pro in Apex legends I would have most likely played CSGO until Project A (Valorant) came out & tried my best to be a professional Valorant player.

• What are the best things, as in for material or moral , that Team Secret provided you with ?——

They are the best organization I know to this day. They salary us monthly. They pay for all travel & food costs. They give us all sponsorship deals (Corsair gear, Secretlabs chairs, Jerseys etc..) They also help us with any issues we face.

• Can you share some details of your training with the team? For example, the number of hours per day—-

We train for roughly 8 hours a day. For me I like to get on Kovaaks and get warmed up then switch to Apex legends & get in scrim lobbies against the best teams. However, being a pro isn’t only about what you do in game. It’s also about what you eat, how you think & how coachable you are. It’s very important to have a healthy meal every day & also be at a good state of mind to avoid getting burned out from the game.

• There is no doubt that you are still a young player in the prime of life, so how did your parents react to the news of your formal professional video games? Did they support you all the way, or were there some concerns here and there? Are you used to a good balance between playing and studying?—-

When I first started competing to build a name for myself my parents absolutely hated it and saw it as a waste of time. However, over time once I started showing them some of my results in tournaments & my earnings they started to be more supportive. However, no matter how much money I make my parents really want me to finish college & having school & practice isn’t easy sometimes but it’s my passion & i’ll do whatever it takes to continue being the best.

• The question that now comes to the minds of followers is “How can I become like yousif!” What is your answer to that?—-

Lot’s of hard work. It doesn’t matter if your parents support or not. It doesn’t matter if you’re too “busy” working. If you REALLY want to break into esports & it’s truly your passion then you will figure out a way & time to practice & become better. Esports is 24/7 & it really comes down to how bad you want to be in esports. You need to work hard non stop till you make it!

• Speaking of Arab players, there is no doubt that the Arab world still needs a lot of work in order to reach international standards, but positive signs have appeared on several occasions to usher in a broad local professional scene. What are the most prominent differences from your experience between Arab and Western professionals? What are some tips you would like to see applied to improve the Arab scene?——

To be completely honest, there aren’t a lot of professionals in esports. To this day Esports is still a small industry compared to other industries however, it is growing exponentially! There is a very limited amount of professionals in the middle east. I really want to help grow the esports industry in the middle east. There are so many passionate gamers in middle east but there aren’t many organizers or tournaments running in middle east. I very much want to see that change!

I have been thinking of some ways to help grow esports in middle east & I might have to visit sometime to help esports organizers with sponsorship deals & viewership growth for tournaments in the middle east because I know there are many people in middle east that want to see esports grow.

• If you have the opportunity to return to your country of origin and compete side by side with your countrymen, would you do so? What are the main obstacles that you may face if you do this in your opinion? Can it be bypassed?——

I would 100% seek this opportunity. Like I said, I want to help the middle east in growing in esports & I have already built so much knowledge from esports in North america and I want to take this potential & craft it into the middle east. There is so much knowledge to be shared & so many ways to grow an audience & after that audience is built there is so many ways to sell that to a sponsor that is interested in investing. I feel the only obstacle I would face is my horrible arabic haha. I’m not very fluent in writing in arabic sorry.

• We have seen many of the skills inherent in the players of the Arab world, but hesitation is still present among their ranks. What is your advice to every player who wants to be professional?——

Continue grinding & Don’t stop. You need to remember that esports is still not very developed in the middle east. So don’t invest all your time into just playing. You need to invest your time into creating content & showcasing your skill to the people in the middle east because people want to see your skills so please please please create videos & show others what you’re about!

• What is next for Ahmad Al-Dabbos? Any aspirations, goals or dreams that you want to achieve soon?—-

For me, I believe apex legends professional scene is starting to die. Therefore, I am continuing to develop my skill & strive to be the best at the next coming big FPS game called Valorant. Remember what I said about new games that come out being the best time to move in. I’m looking to take all my skills & experience from Apex legends & Team Secret & moving forward into Valorant as I am seeing new & better opportunities in that game once it releases. It’s going to be big. Possibly as big as CSGO.

• Are there any nearby tournaments we can look forward to watching? What are the social media channels that followers can check to know about your latest news?——

At the moment there aren’t any major tournaments that i’m going to because of the CoronaVirus. However, I will continue providing content from my home. My username is YousifFPS on all social medias. I also stream on facebook https://FB.GG/YousifFPS

• A final word for your Arab fans?——

Honestly I love all my arab supporters. You guys are great & I can relate to a lot of you. Thank you all for joining me on my journey to be a top player within the esports industry. Keep up the hard work & never stop hustling!