Saudi Arabia at the forefront of esports with EWC

Lea Hogg July 23, 2024

The Esports World Cup (EWC), which kicked off on 3 July in Saudi Arabia, has drawn professional gamers, publishers, and fans from around the globe for an eight-week gaming extravaganza. However, this event has also sparked a mix of anticipation and apprehension within the industry.

The EWC boasts a record-breaking prize pool exceeding $60 million, a figure that has certainly turned heads. Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, the organization behind the event, believes that this spectacle will serve as a unifying force for the industry. He posed the question, “What is missing in the sports landscape? Something that brings the entire industry together on a scale similar to the largest traditional sports events.”

Reichert explained that while there are numerous tournaments, leagues, and clubs in esports, the EWC is the one event that ties them all together. This was the guiding principle behind the conception, design, and announcement of the EWC. However, the launch of the tournament has reignited existing concerns about the industry’s ties with Saudi Arabia.

The EWC’s impact on the industry

The EWC is not Saudi Arabia’s first venture into esports. It follows the Gamers8 event from the previous year, which had a prize pool of $45 million. This year’s tournament will see top organizations such as T1, FlyQuest, Gen.G Esports, Fnatic, and G2 Esports competing across 21 esports titles. The club that performs best across these titles will be crowned the ultimate EWC champion. The substantial prize money will be distributed across various categories, including player bounties and overall performance prizes. The EWC comes at a time when the industry has been hit hard, with large-scale layoffs and companies like game developer and publisher Riot Games letting go of 11 percent of its workforce. However, the EWC is providing an opportunity for over 20 major brands, including Adidas and KitKat, to form new and profitable partnerships with esports teams throughout the tournament. In June, Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, and the Esports World Cup Foundation agreed to a new partnership involving Eurosport, CNN, and other WBD platforms. Reichert insists that the EWC was not created to rescue a struggling industry. Regardless of the state of the esports community, he believes a tournament like the EWC is crucial for allowing organizations to thrive. “So even without the overall economic downturn, we would have done the same thing,” he said. Through the Esports World Cup Foundation, Reichert is enthusiastic about the launch of the EWC Club Program. This initiative aims to “promote sustainable planning” by offering 28 clubs worldwide an “annual six-figure payout.” The goal is to provide organizations with a platform to grow and maximize their participation in the annual tournament. However, while the EWC promises to bring excitement and stability to the industry, it has also proven to be a divisive topic. Many are troubled by the tournament’s ties to Saudi Arabia, a country accused of “sportswashing” – using high-profile sporting events to project a positive image globally, often to distract from alleged misconduct. Reichert acknowledges that the EWC Foundation, which officially runs the event, is a non-profit organization. However, it has been partly funded by the Saudi government, similar to how a host nation would invest in any major sporting event. He also states that there are no plans to move the EWC away from Saudi Arabia in the near future.

Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in Esports

Saudi Arabia’s influence in competitive gaming is already significant as the nation looks to diversify its economy and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. The Saudi government-controlled Public Investment Fund (PIF) has in recent years acquired some of the biggest companies in the industry, including the Savvy Gaming Group (SGG). SGG has since acquired ESL, a leading organizer of esports events, and FACEIT, a top digital platform, as it continues its aim of making Saudi a hub for global gaming. However, human rights organizations are concerned about Saudi Arabia’s continued investment in esports. “Saudi Arabia is investing billions in esports, a field thriving on online interactions, while cracking down on any form of critical online expression with harsh prison terms and even a death sentence,” said Dana Ahmed, Amnesty International’s Middle East researcher. As the EWC unfolds, the esports industry will look forward to the opportunities it presents but wary of the controversies it stirs.