The inaugural 2024 Esports World Cup, an annual event replacing Gamers8 and run by the Esports World Cup Foundation, will take place in Riyadh this July 4 – August 24 featuring 20 events in 19 video game titles as well as the largest prize pool in esports history of over US$60 million.
Boulevard Riyadh City will be the venue for the competition and it’s more than 2,500 expected players competing for a $60 million prize pool, the largest in esports history. The Esports World Cup Foundation, a nonprofit established in 2023 and based in Riyadh, will host and implement the event.
Esports has long had a tremendous following in Saudi Arabia and, according to Kelsey Warner writing for The Circuit:
“Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said to be a devotee of the Call of Duty zombie military game, has earmarked $38 billion from the Public Investment Fund – with the aim of attracting 250 gaming companies and studios while creating 39,000 video game-related jobs in the process. The homegrown strategy builds on the kingdom’s credentials in the e-arena with investments in the biggest players like Tencent, Nintendo, Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft.”
According to the Esports World Cup website,
“The games industry will soon surpass $200 billion in value and has fast become the leading global entertainment sector, with more than three billion players across the globe. What was once a hobby is now a sport that regularly packs arenas and entertains millions of adoring fans.
Esports has become the preferred sport for many, bolstered by a youthful, tech-savvy, and digital-native audience. And, as the world continues to become more borderless, an opportunity presents itself to unlock the full potential of this emerging sport.
To push esports forward, we are eliminating ecosystem fragmentation and providing a centralized platform for the world’s leading games and the best esports athletes, while introducing a novel approach to set the global standard for what it means to be an esports champion.”
The event will include competitions across a wide variety of games, including:
- Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- StarCraft II
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO)
- Dota 2
- Honor of Kings
- Free Fire
- PUBG Mobile
- Rainbow Six Siege
- Overwatch 2
- Fortnite
- Rocket League
- EA SPORTS FC
- Street Fighter 6
- Tekken 8
- League of Legends
- Teamfight Tactics
- Apex Legends
With four categories:
- Club Championship: This awards $20 million to the top 16 teams based on their overall performance across all games.
- Game Championships: Each of the 20 games will have its own prize pool, totaling over $33 million.
- Qualifiers: Teams will compete for more than $7 million during qualifying events.
- MVP Awards: The Most Valuable Player of each event will be awarded $50,000.
To read more about the Esport World Cup, click here, here and here.
