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Helabet Season 2 ended with Shaq standing above a packed field of Kenya’s biggest FC 26 names, and if this really was the final major tournament of the FC 26 era, the Phoenix Esports star picked one hell of a way to close it.
The tournament brought together 39 players, including some of the biggest names in Kenyan EA Sports FC: Shaq, Collo Gamer, Prorate, Trex, Atak, Tornado, Tank, Ibrah, Lil Pip, Harry Kappa, Sam Jr and many more.
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After a day of intense competition, it came down to two Phoenix Esports players. Shaq beat Delo 7-2 in the final to take the KSh 20,000 first prize.
Delo walked away with KSh 12,000, but more importantly, he finally gave the Kenyan gaming community a proper introduction to what he can do.
Helabet Season 2 Brings Kenya’s Best Together
The tournament had a turnout of 39 players, making it one of the strongest FC 26 fields seen in Kenya. The lineup had representatives from almost every major Kenyan FC organization, alongside several top free agents.
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The big names in the field
- Phoenix Esports: Shaq, Collo Gamer/Ceaser, Marlone, Ado, Sam Jr and Delo
- TR Esports: Lil Pip, Trex, Prorate and Regulus
- SC Esports: Tank, Ibrah, Davey and Venom
- Z Esports: Atak, Barry, Tornado, Viper and Marksman
- Leijona Esports: Kijana Wa Yesu, Ronnie Jr and Obozz Da Bozz
- Makaveli Esports: Dulo
- Inner Circle: Fab Pepe and Mcallimoney
- Santiago eHub: Mcoasty
- Free agents: Harry Kappa, Seazeh, Mjukuu, Lord7 and Demon
That list alone tells you how serious the tournament was. There were no easy games.
Two Brackets, One Champion
The tournament format also had an unusual twist. The first bracket featured 37 players, with the competition running through winners and losers brackets. The defending champion, Ado, and last edition’s runner-up, Harry Kappa, were given a direct place in the next stage. They joined eight players from the first bracket in a second Challonge bracket that decided the final positions.
The second bracket was different. Instead of a normal double elimination bracket, it used a two-leg format, with home and away games. The aggregate score decided who moved forward, adding another layer of pressure to the biggest matches. For Shaq, that format would become very important.
Shaq’s Road to the Helabet Season 2 Title
Shaq did not simply walk into the final. He had to survive some serious names before reaching the final bracket. His run started with a huge 10-4 win over Seazeh. Then came his Phoenix Esports teammate Collo Gamer, also known as Ceaser. Shaq edged him 9-7 in another high-scoring battle.
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But the biggest statement of the first bracket came next. Shaq faced Atak, his former Z Esports teammate and one of the players who helped shape his early competitive journey. There was no mercy. Shaq crushed Atak 9-2. Three games later, he was through to the second Challonge. And that’s where things became even more interesting.
Shaq vs Sam Jr: A Phoenix Esports War
Shaq’s first opponent in the second bracket was another Phoenix Esports player: Sam Jr. It was one of the most thrilling matches of the tournament. Sam Jr won the first game by a two-goal margin. Shaq responded by winning the second game by exactly the same margin. With the aggregate score level, everything came down to a deciding third game. And it was not a normal third game. It was golden goal.
One goal would decide everything. Shaq found it. He won the tie 8-7 on aggregate and survived. One Phoenix teammate down. Another massive test waiting.
Harry Kappa Was Waiting
If Shaq wanted the trophy, he had to go through Harry Kappa. Kappa had already beaten Prorate 8-5 on aggregate in the quarterfinals to book his place in the semifinal. The first leg between Kappa and Shaq looked like it might end the run. Kappa won 5-2.
Three goals down. Against Harry Kappa. At that point, Shaq needed something special. And he delivered.
In the second leg, Shaq produced one of the biggest comebacks of the tournament, winning 5-2 before adding the decisive dagger to complete a 9-8 aggregate victory.
Kappa was out. Shaq was in the final. And waiting for him was another Phoenix player.
Delo Finally Gets His Moment
While Shaq was fighting through some of Kenya’s biggest names, Delo was quietly putting together a run of his own. For a player who has spent a lot of time grinding without receiving the same attention as some of Kenya’s bigger stars, this tournament became his arrival moment.
Delo began by crushing Maina 10-3. He then edged Marksman 5-4 before suffering a 6-4 defeat to Ibrah. That could have been the end. Instead, Delo entered the losers bracket and started fighting back. He narrowly beat Fab Pepe 3-2 to earn his place in the next Challonge.
Fab deserves credit for the run he had before that elimination. After losing his opening match to Barry 5-4, Fab went on a wild losers-bracket run.
He beat:
- Viper — 6-2
- Mark John — 13-2
- Kijana Wa Yesu — 6-3
- Lord7 — 7-4
His run finally ended against Delo, who secured the ticket to the second bracket. Delo then beat a teammate 6-4 before facing defending champion Ado.
This time, there was no upset for the defending champion. Delo defeated Ado 6-4. He then destroyed Mcoasty 9-3 on aggregate in the semifinal to reach the final. The stage was set. Phoenix Esports had taken over the tournament.
An All-Phoenix Final
The final was not the close battle many expected. Shaq took control and never really let go. He defeated Delo 7-2 to become the Helabet Season 2 FC 26 champion.
For Shaq, it was another major trophy added to a growing list. For Delo, it was the performance that finally forced the community to pay attention. He may have lost the final, but finishing second in a tournament packed with Kenya’s top players is a serious statement. And now people know the name.
Helabet Season 2 Prize Money
The FC 26 competition had a KSh 50,000 prize pool, with the top six players taking home money.
- Shaq — KSh 20,000
- Delo — KSh 12,000
- Harry Kappa — KSh 7,000
- Mcoasty — KSh 5,000
- Ibrah — KSh 3,500
- Prorate — KSh 2,500
The overall Helabet Season 2 was bigger than FC 26 alone.
The event also featured Call of Duty and eFootball Mobile, with the overall tournament carrying a KSh 100,000 prize pool. That means Masinga Ooko delivered on the promise made after the first edition: the Helabet tournament was back, and this time it was bigger.
The Last Big FC 26 Tournament?
For Kenya’s FC community, there is something else hanging over this victory. FC 26 is approaching the end of its competitive cycle, and this tournament felt like one of the final major gatherings of the game’s biggest Kenyan stars.
If this was indeed the last big FC 26 tournament, Shaq could not have asked for a better ending. He beat Seazeh. He beat Collo Gamer. He destroyed Atak. He survived Sam Jr in golden goal. He came back against Harry Kappa after losing the first leg 5-2. Then he finished the job against Delo. That’s a champion’s run.
Why Helabet Season 2 Matters
The biggest takeaway from this tournament isn’t only that Shaq won KSh 20,000. It’s that the depth of Kenyan FC esports continues to grow.
A tournament can have Shaq, Kappa, Prorate, Trex, Collo Gamer, Ado, Sam Jr, Ibrah, Tank, Lil Pip, Atak and many other established players, and still produce a player like Delo, who had largely been working in the background, reaching the final. That’s important.
The next big Kenyan star may not always be the player getting the most attention today. Sometimes he’s the one grinding quietly until a tournament like this gives him the stage. Delo got that stage at Helabet Season 2. Shaq got the trophy.
And Kenya’s FC 26 community got one more tournament packed with the kind of drama that makes competitive gaming worth following.
Conclusion
Helabet Season 2 gave Kenyan FC 26 fans exactly what they wanted from a major tournament: elite players, wild comebacks, teammate battles, a defending champion trying to hold on, and a new name finally stepping into the spotlight.
Shaq walked away with KSh 20,000 after beating Delo 7-2 in an all-Phoenix final, while Harry Kappa, Mcoasty, Ibrah and Prorate completed the top six. But the story goes beyond the prize money. If this really was the last major FC 26 tournament of the season, Shaq has signed off in style.
Click these links to see the tournament’s challonge – first challonge and second challonge.
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