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The stage floor lit up with purple clouds and lightning. There were four screens, composed in the shape of a square and hanging over the entire stage showcasing the action below. The Mortal Kombat XL character select screen emanated out to the incoming crowd of the Mandalay Bay Events Center.The Evolution Championship Series (Evo) was the biggest fighting game tournament in the world, and Mortal Kombat XL was one of its headliners. In the middle of it all was Sayed Tekken Master Hashem, who had ascended from the losers bracket to the grand finals. He took his seat next to the best Mortal Kombat player in the world, Dominique SonicFox McLean, and did not flinch. His stoic expression never changed when the lights dimmed and his seat became center stage.When asked about the grand finals, Hashem merely said, I expected to reach the top three at Evo, and was confident enough to [achieve] it. My only concerns, when it came to rivals or players in the tournament, were Brad Scar Vaughn, Denom A F0xy Grampa Jones, and SonicFox.When Hashem won 3-1 in the first series to reset the bracket during the grand finals at Evo, he finally showed emotion. He stood up and pumped his fists. But he never broke his focus or altered the expression on his face, even with so much riding on this tournament. A victory for him would mean recognition for an entire region. It could catalyze a new generation of players at home. That would validate the entire journey.Nobody in the crowd saw this coming, MK commentator Aris Bakhtanians said to the audience.A big fish on a small islandHashem is from the Kingdom of Bahrain, an island near the western shores of the Persian Gulf in the Middle East. Although he hails from a small nation, Hashem did not come out of nowhere; he was already well known to the top players in the community. His success began with a victory in a Bahrain qualifier for the Mortal Kombat X Cup during Animania Bahrain in 2015. From there, he was the Middle East Finals champion (a feat hes accomplished twice) and then the runner-up for the Mortal Kombat X Cup in 2015 and 2016 before the breakout at Evo.Hashem remembers playing video games when he was six. Fighting games caught his attention when his older brothers played The King of Fighters 96 and Tekken Tag Tournament. He chose to compete in fighting games because of the emotional aspect and reward for fast thinking.But his island was hardly a fighting game hotbed. Mortal Kombat, especially, was a not a popular pastime. Hashem cites one training partner, Abdulaziz X-Azeez Aljowder, as his only consistent practice for the game. This solitary role still comes with high praise, however. He considers Aljowder a top 10 player in the world for the game and credits him for much of his Mortal Kombat success.Our community here in the Kingdom of Bahrain consists of Street Fighter, Super Smash Brothers, and King of Fighters players. We have really good players who excel at Street Fighter V, Hashem said. Sadly, our Mortal Kombat community is quite small, but I personally play and train with X-Azeez.His current sponsor, Middle Eastern esports organization Power League Gaming (PLG), has hosted the majority of the tournaments and cups that Hashem has played in. Aljowder also plays for PLG.If it was not for PLG then the scene for Mortal Kombat in our region would have died out completely and I would not have made it to Evo, Hashem said. They ran professional tournaments in the Middle East since Mortal Kombat 9, and now with X and XL, things were really big. Everyone knows the PLG tournaments are the ones where you can prove yourself. When you do, theyll support you and fund you to go to the global competitions. They are passionate and they understand how difficult it is for the community.The final stepBack at Evo, Hashems grand finals opponent McLean took the lead 2-1 in the ultimate series, turning the tables. Hashem started to show a little concern. He rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. After a moment, he selected a different character variation and played the fourth game. The change worked; the set was tied.McLean took a deep breath and adjusted his headset before changing his character. The two clashed in one final game, Alien against Kotal Khan. McLean took advantage of his characters tools: overheads, safe chip setups, and pressure on pressure. Hashem took everything in stride and struggled to fight back. A missed combo and another missed opportunity for a punish from Hashem and McLean finally took the tournament down. He rose from his seat in excitement as Hashem slumped in his chair. He had fallen just short of arguably the largest upset in Mortal Kombat history.Even though he didnt take home the gold, Hashems run at Evo was inspiring. A lone representative from his community, he nearly took down the biggest Mortal Kombat tournament ever against the best player on the planet. The Middle East and PLG have a fighting game superhero, thanks to his amazing Evo weekend.It would be an honor for me if other players in the little island of Bahrain or the Middle East would consider me as an inspiration, Hashem said. I feel a sense of responsibility to raise awareness for my local and regional community. I was very happy to represent my country at Evo on that stage, especially coming from the smallest country in the Middle East; I was more than 8000 miles away from home. It was an indescribable feeling.Diamondbacks Jerseys 2019 . 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Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Coyotes have acquired prospect Lawson Crouse and veteran Dave Bollands contract from the Florida Panthers for two draft picks.Arizona sent a 2017 third-round pick and a conditional 2018 second-rounder that could become another 2017 third to Florida. The Coyotes are taking on the final three years of the injured Bollands deal to pick up Crouse, the 11th pick in the 2015 draft.Nagging injuries limited Bolland to 25 games last season, and the 30-year-old forward has three years left on his deal at a salary-cap hit of $5.5 million, the reason the Panthers made the deal.Arizona general manager John Chayka said Bolland isnt expected to play for the foreseeable future and could be placed on long-term injured reserve. Chayka said Bolland had to be included in the trade to make it work.Crouse, 19, is a 6-foot-4 left winger who could make his NHL debut this fall.Obviously, I think its a very good opportunity for myself to come into camp this year and show them what Im made of, he said in a conference call, and they made a good decision by reaching out and trading for me.Chayka said he believes Crouse is close to being NHL-ready.I think hes physically ready. I think hes mentally ready, Chayka said. What it really comes down to is the old cliche ... you come to camp and you earn your spot.There is a crowd of veterans at the position but Crouse said hes prepared to go for it.All season long and all summer longg Ive been building toward making the NHL this year, he said.ddddddddddddThis offseasons been very intense. Im doing whatever I can to be part of the NHL.Crouse, a teammate of young Coyotes Max Domi and Anthony Duclair on the Canadian world junior team, called himself a competitive guy.I love to win, he said. Im going to do whatever it takes to make that team. However they want me to play, thats the way Im going to play. For me, thats doing the little things right and being a good team guy.Crouse adds to an imposing list of young players in the Coyotes organization.Taking a broader look at our prospect pool, if there was one area we could improve upon it was adding a power forward of Lawsons ability, Chayka said.He called the young Canadian a guy thats rare to find, difficult to obtain.Panthers assistant general manager Eric Joyce said it was incredibly hard to give up a good, young player,Every hockey trade you try to make, it has to be beneficial for your team in some way and also the team that youre dealing with, Joyce said. And they coveted Lawson and what he brought to their stable of prospects. They were pretty adamant. We tried a lot of different ways to work around trading Lawson, but they were pretty adamant that he was the centerpiece of any deal that would help us alleviate Daves cap hit. ' ' '