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| (Image Source: eSports World Cup Foundation) |
The eSports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has announced that a total prize pool of more than $60M will be at stake for the inaugural eSports World Cup with a groundbreaking lineup of 19 participating game titles. Slated to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on July 4-August 24, 2024, this staggering prize pool marks the largest sum ever awarded in an eSports tournament, breaking the 45-million-dollar record of its predecessor, GAMERS8: The Land of Heroes, in 2023.
"Setting the record for the largest eSports prize pool is a remarkable achievement, but what I'm most proud of is the positive message this sends to the wider eSports and gaming community. More than $60M is a testament to our investment in the future of global eSports, a commitment to eSports fans who deserve exceptional events, and an extension of our mission to create meaningful competitive opportunities with life-changing prize pools for eSports athletes everywhere," said eSports World Cup Foundation CEO Ralf Reichert. The EWC will feature many the world’s top clubs and eSports athletes to compete in 20 competitions featuring some of the best and finest eSports titles in recent gaming history, hence its historic prize pool. The Club Championship, an EWX cross-game format focusing on multi-game competitions, will award a total of $20M to the top 16 clubs based on their overall performance. The club with the best performance across various game championships will eventually reign as the world’s first ever Esports World Cup Club Champion.
The remaining prize pool will be divided into three different distribution categories: game championships, MVP awards, and qualifiers. Each of the 20 game championships will have its own prize pool with a combined total of over $33 million. The outstanding participant in each competition that will receive the MVP (Most Valuable Player) Award will bag a total of $50,000 while a total of $7M will be given to teams and athletes who are competing to qualify for tournament spots across eligible qualifier events. Solidifying its commitment to unify the gaming and eSports communities from across the globe, the inaugural eSports World Cup will feature Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, DOTA 2, EA Sports FC 24, Fortnite, Free Fire, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), Overwatch 2, PUBG Battleground, PUBG Mobile, Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 Siege, ESL R1, Rocket League, StarCraft II, Street Fighter™ 6, Teamfight Tactics, and TEKKEN 8. “When we started working on the Esports World Cup and announced it last fall, we promised to bring the community all the best games. This final batch of titles concludes this promise. We are incredibly excited and thankful to all the publishers and game developers for making this dream lineup a reality. Uniting and showcasing the power of esports and the esports community has become a reality. Billions of players worldwide play these games, and we can’t wait to bring all those vibrant fan communities together in Riyadh this summer," said Reichert.
The eSports World Cup will make Riyadh the epicenter of gaming, providing sustainable career options for eSports athletes and multidisciplinary clubs. It will also bring the best athletes, teams, and organizations across the globe together to honor exceptional achievements in eSports. According to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Prime Minister His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, “The eSports World Cup is the natural next step in Saudi Arabia’s journey to become the premier global hub for gaming and eSports, offering an unmatched eSports experience that pushes the boundaries of the industry. The competition will enhance our progress towards realizing the Vision 2030 objectives of diversifying the economy, growing the tourism sector, creating new jobs in various industries, and providing world-class entertainment for citizens, residents, and visitors alike.” The eSports World Cup reflects the Kingdom’s continuous efforts to sustain and grow the eSports sector, as well as its ambitions to expand the entertainment and sports industries at home and abroad. The tournament also builds on the gaming passion seen in Saudi’s youth-majority population and on homegrown eSports successes such as the first and second editions of GAMERS8. The tournament will help accelerate the realization of the Kingdom's National Gaming and eSports Strategy. The strategy aims to increase the sector’s contribution to the Kingdom’s GDP by more than SAR50B by 2030 and create 39,000 new job opportunities. Set to help bolster the Kingdom's tourism scene throughout the summer, the tournament will be complemented with a diversified set of activities and events that will draw visitors and tourists to the capital transforming it into a gaming capital.
For more information and updates on the eSports World Cup, visit its official website at esportsworldcup.com and its social media accounts (Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch).
