Esports World Cup fever in Saudi Arabia as contest kicks off with biggest prize pool

The much-anticipated Esports World Cup (EWC) was officially launched Tuesday night in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, hours before teams from across the globe join the weeks-long competition.
The world’s top clubs and players, along with enthusiastic fans, are gearing up for the EWC, which kicks off on Wednesday and runs until August 25 at Boulevard Riyadh City.

With a prize pool of over $60 million—the largest ever in the industry—the level of competition is sure to be high.

The prize pool is divided into four categories: game championships ($33 million), player bounties ($1 million), qualifiers ($7 million), and a cross-game competitive format club championship ($20 million).

The event is organized by the Esports World Cup Foundation and was announced in October by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“Roughly 67 percent of the population of Saudi Arabia consider themselves to be gamers,” chairman of Saudi Esports Federation Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, told a news conference before the launching ceremony.

This reflects the importance of gaming within the Kingdom and the importance of boosting and supporting this community, Prince Faisal said. He referred to the National Gaming and Esports Strategy, launched by MBS in 2022, which focuses on growing the industry within Saudi Arabia, creating 39,000 jobs and boosting GDP by $13.3 billion (50 billion riyals) by 2030.

“It gives gamers in this country a chance to realize their dreams,” Prince Faisal said. The EWC comes to complement this strategy, with it being “a global celebration” for this sports.

In a tour for Al Arabiya English at the venue, last minute preparations and work were underway to fine-tune the details and ensure the event is up to expectations.

EWC will be taking place across different arenas, each offering a unique futuristic design and a setup aimed at captivating gamers and fans alike. The venues will host 1,500 elite players competing head-to-head in 22 competitions across 21 leading games.

Top competitors will face off in various titles including League of Legends, Counter-Strik II and Dota 2.

“Gaming is a modern-day phenomenon,” CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation Ralf Reichert said at the news conference.

Esports is positioning itself as “one of the world’s fastest growing and the most in demand sports,” Reichert said. He noted that the EWC was established to develop esports and to provide players, clubs and fans with new possibilities and potential.