Competitors arriving from around the globe to test their skills against the best in the world. The best of the best coming together and going head to head in a variety of sporting events.
The Paris Summer Olympic Games? Yeah, that was a pretty big deal, too. But what we’re talking about here is the first-ever World Cup of Esports. The 2024 Esports World Cup was an ongoing multi-game tournament held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from July 3 through August 25. Hosted by the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) and ESL FACEIT Group, it was the first edition of the Esports World Cup, a tournament series that was originally announced late in 2023. The tournament is to become an annual event, with another Esports World Cup already slated to be held next year in Riyadh.
This massive event gathering the elite competitors in video game competition in such disciplines as League of Legends (LoL), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and Rocket League is just another indication of the massive growth of Esports and a further move for the genre into the mainstream of sporting competition. In fact, Esports are so widespread today that wagering is offered on all major Esports events at top online betting sites such as Bovada Sportsbook. The number of people under the age of 30 who count themselves as fans of Esports is growing exponentially.
In fact, so popular is gaming today that there will be an official Esports Olympic competition held in 2025.
Big Money Up For Grabs
If you’re still scoffing at the popularity of Esports, or you are an old-school thinker who doesn’t want to see playing video games put on the same level of competition as say the NFL or NBA, well then you just haven’t been paying attention. As a matter of fact, the NBA is offering its own official Esports competition via NBA2K, affiliating Esports teams under the same umbrella as each city’s NBA squad.
At the World Cup of Esports, competition was offered in 21 different disciplines. Some 500 teams and 1,500 competitors were entered in the various events. There was $60 million USD in prize money up for grabs. The championship club in the overall competition, Team Falcons, took home a prize of $7 million.
The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF), the non-profit organization which operates the EWC, indicated that the event drew more than 500 million viewers. They watched more than 250 million hours of content. That made the Esports World Cup the most-watched Esports tournament in 2024. The highest peak for viewership of 3.5 million was achieved during the League of Legends final.
Hometown Heroes
Team Falcons competed in 18 of the 22 competitions offered at the World Cup of Esports. A team based in Saudi Arabia, they were able to capture the sport’s top prize on home soil.
Their championship performance was highlighted by first-place finishes in Free Fire and Call of Duty Warzone. Team Falcons also finished 2nd in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid Season Cup 2024, Apex Legends, Rocket League, and TEKKEN 8.
“We promised ourselves that we wanted this trophy to stay at home. Now, finally, we can say it’s home,” Team Falcons CEO Mossad “Msdossary” Al-Dossary said. “This is for all the Saudi people. It remains in Saudi.”
Team Falcons finished the 2024 Esports World Cup with 5,665 Club Championship Points. That performance easily outdistanced second place Team Liquid’s 2,545 points. They were so far out in front that Team Falcons clinched the overall title on August 17, eight days prior to the conclusion of all competition.
Team Falcons was one of two organizations, alongside Team BDS, to win multiple tournaments at the 2024 Esports World Cup.
Neymar Helping To Make Esports Mainstream
Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar Jr. helped to promote the Esports World Cup (Photo by Tasnim News Agency. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Helping to further establish the credentials of Esports as a legitimate mainstream sporting competition right up there with the FIFA World Cup and the Super Bowl, Brazilian soccer legend Neymar Jr. took part in a special celebrity event during the tournament. He’s an Olympic gold medal winner who also won the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona.
Neymar, who plays for champions Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League, took part in an esports showmatch in Counter-Strike 2, Rocket League and Tekken 8. In between the games, fans were able to take on the soccer superstar in mini-challenges and partake in exclusive interactions. These included raffles for signed merchandise.
“Neymar’s visit to the Esports World Cup is another step in our mission to elevate esports and attract a broader global audience,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation.
Esports Fanning Olympic Flames
While the competition won’t be taking place during the actual Olympiads, the International Olympic Committee is stepping strongly into the realm of Esports by setting up a separate Esports Olympics.
Saudi Arabia will host the inaugural Olympic Esports Games next year. The event is part of a 12-year partnership agreement formed between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia. The Olympic Esports Games will be held regularly as part of the agreement, though no specific timeline has yet been determined as to how often regular will be – yearly, biennial, or every four years like the actual Olympic Games.
The IOC is viewing the entry into the partnership and the marrying of Esports with the Olympic movement as part and parcel of bringing younger people into the fandom of the Olympic Games.
The next steps will include selecting a city and venue for the inaugural edition of the Olympic Esports Games. As well, the specific timing of the event, the titles to be included in the competition, and the qualification process for the players must be finalized.
