Ahmed Yosri/Reuters
Spectators watch the action at the Gamers8 festival in Saudi Arabia last year.
CNN
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Boasting the biggest prize pool in esports history, the inaugural 2024 Esports World Cup (EWC) could prove to be a pivotal moment for industry.
Organized by the Esports World Cup Foundation – and with the latest details announced on Tuesday – the EWC will bring players, publishers and fans from around the world under one roof for eight weeks of competitive play in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The tournament will feature top global clubs competing against each other in 19 esports titles, including Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, EA Sports FC 24, Fortnite, League of Legends, Rocket League, StarCraft II, Street Fighter 6 and TEKKEN 8.
Clubs will be able to choose which matches to participate in before the best-performing team in the various leagues is crowned the absolute champion of the Esports World Cup for the first time.
While other esports prize purses have shrunk due to the well-reported financial struggles felt across the industry, the EWC boasts more than $60 million in prize money, which will be broken down into different categories such as player awards ($50,000 prizes MVP per individual competition) and awards for overall performance (over $33 million awarded to the game’s competitions).
It also comes after a difficult period in which the industry saw large-scale layoffs, which included the hiring of game developer and publisher Riot Games 11% of the workforce goes to her at the beginning of the year.
According to New York Timesesports leagues are struggling to make money, sponsors have cut their advertising budgets and many teams are now operating at a loss.
Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, hopes that this new competition in Saudi Arabia can be a game changer.
“Winning the record for the biggest esports prize is a remarkable achievement, but what I’m most proud of is the positive message it sends to the wider esports and gaming community,” Reichert said in a statement.
“More than $60 million is a testament to our investment in the future of global esports, a commitment to esports fans who deserve great events, and an extension of our mission to create meaningful competitive opportunities with life-changing prizes for esports players. esports everywhere.”
The debut event will be held later this year in Saudi Arabia – a nation looking to invest heavily in the esports industry.
The event will have over 645,000 square feet of space and will feature four separate esports arenas. Organizers say they expect to welcome 2.9 million fans through its doors, with the event including two music concerts, as well as six drone and fireworks shows.
07:00 – Source: CNN
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EWC continues Saudi Arabia’s big foray into esports – after last year’s Gamers8 eventwhich had a prize of $45 million.
The nation has invested huge sums of money in more traditional sports in recent years, such as tennis, golf, boxing and football.
The kingdom has previously pushed back against allegations of “sports wash,” which involves nations using high-profile sporting events to project a favorable image of their country around the world, often to draw attention away from alleged wrongdoing.
Organizers say the EWC will not be funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), but will consist of a combination of host country funding and sponsorships.
In 2023, Saudi Arabia launched the “National Gaming and Esports Strategy” (NGES), which hopes to make the country the center of the competitive gaming world by 2030.
Announcing the event in October last year, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman he said at the New Global Sport Conference: “The Esports World Cup is the natural next step in Saudi Arabia’s journey to become the leading global hub for gaming and esports, offering an unparalleled esports experience that pushes the boundaries of the industry.”