The Esports World Cup drew unprecedented crowds, selling out the first half of the opening event.
RIYADH: The Esports World Cup, the world's largest esports tournament and festival, entered the second half of the competition after attracting unprecedented audiences and live attendance at its opening event at Boulevard Riyadh City.
The Esports World Cup Foundation, the non-profit organization that hosts the EWC, announced a total of 177.5 million hours watched over the first four weeks, with each tournament setting viewership levels. In addition, a total of $16.5 million of the $60 million in prize money was distributed in nine of the 22 championships. first at the historic event held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“After four fast weeks, the Esports World Cup has already exceeded our highest expectations,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation. “When we started this journey, our goal was to jumpstart the esports industry with a world-class event that brings together the best games, players and clubs, and reach fans beyond the core esports fans. , joining 3.4 billion players worldwide. I am proud to be on track to reach this goal in Riyadh with hundreds of millions of viewers at home, and over a million visiting the -place, not only shattering our expectations, but also the record of sports 2024. The EWC has awarded more than $16 million in life-changing prizes so far, with millions more to come. from, including the final prize – a share of $ 20 million throughout the Esports World Cup Club Championship at the end of August.
Spectators and social highlights
During the first four weeks of the World Cup of Esports, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang registered the highest viewership of the event with almost 2.4 million matches, the largest number of MLBB tournament in 2024. The game's popularity extended to the MLBB Women's Invitational at the EWC. 2.5 million hours of recordings were watched during the entire 34-hour broadcast. With a peak attendance of 265,117, it became the fourth most watched event in women's sports history. Mobile games in general exceeded viewership expectations at EWC, with Free Fire attracting more than 441,000 concurrent hits.
On PC, two popular online fighting games are setting high standards for viewers at EWC. With 55 million hours watched, the Dota 2 tournament was the most watched tournament for the game this year, while the League of Legends tournament was the biggest tournament for the game for the past decade, which saw 53 million hours watched and 3.4. peak viewership in the millions (including China).
EWC has attracted an outpouring of fans across social media. Their accounts have recorded more than one billion photos, 270 million social video views and 58 million social engagements, a testament to the movement of activity in the global esports community and beyond.
Audience opinion
During the first half of the EWC, more than one million visitors attended the massive local experience at Boulevard City in Riyadh. The festival venues attracted 289,000 visitors, while the esports tournaments have sold more than 60,000 tickets so far. The sporting event is just under 3,000 tickets away from full sale with four weeks and 13 competitions still to come. EWC day passes for the entire tournament are sold out, while POWR Villa and Falcons HQ are fully booked until August 17.
During week 3, EWC hosted international footballers Neymar and Diogo Jota. As avid esports fans, both athletes embraced the intense atmosphere surrounding Counter-Strike 2 events.
“Being here at the Esports World Cup is an amazing experience,” said Jota. “The organization and scale of this event is truly impressive, more than I could have imagined. I've always believed in the potential of esports, even before I started my own team, and EWC is proof that this field is growing fast. This level of investment and infrastructure is exactly what esports needs to grow and reach a wider audience. I'm excited to see EWC continue to evolve and push the edge of competitive play. “
Concept of competition
The EWC has awarded $16.5 million in nine championships and another $450,000 in MVP awards. More than $44 million in prize money will be awarded over the final four weeks of competition across the remaining 13 league and club championships.
Currently, Team Falcons sits atop the Esports World Cup Club Championship with 3,500 points, 2,330 above Team Liquid in second place. The Club Championship, EWC's unique cross-game competitive format featuring a $20 million prize pool, rewards the top 16 clubs based on their overall performance. At the conclusion of the event, the club with the best performance in the 22-game championship will be crowned the world's first Esports World Cup Club Champion.
The first four weeks were characterized by frustration and dominating performances. In the $500,000 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women's Invitational, Smart Omega Empress upset tournament favorites Team Vitality to win the $180,000 top prize. In the Overwatch 2 tournament, Crazy Raccoon rolled through the bracket, winning 15 of 17 maps played to take home the trophy and $400,000. And in League of Legends, global superstar Faker led the defense of the T1 World Championship with a 3-1 victory over Top Esports, adding another international accolade to his illustrious career.
finals weekend
The biggest weekend in esports history will take place on August 24-25 when the inaugural EWC concludes.
On August 24, the 2024 Esports Awards, the most prestigious night in esports, will honor the best in business from around the world, celebrating clubs, athletes, content creators, games and many others. Highlights of the evening included a lifetime achievement mixer, red carpet events, an esports village and a star-studded awards ceremony, which last year attracted more than 22 million viewers. – gone.
The new two-day global esports conference that brings together leaders in esports, gaming, business, sports, and entertainment to explore “The Future of Fandom” will begin on August 24th. Thought leaders from around the world will discuss the impact of fandom on business planning, content, IP and media rights, marketing and community building. The lineup of speakers so far includes: Prince Faisal bin Bandar, Ralf Reichert, Magnus Carlsen, Toshimoto Mitomo, Greg Norman, Maya Rogers, RJ Cutler, Dr. Songyee Yoon, Sir Leonard Blavatnik and Joe Marsh.
The weekend will conclude on August 25 as the first Esports World Cup champions are crowned and their share of the $20 million prize pool is awarded to the club. The EWC closing ceremony will welcome clubs, players and fans together for a spectacular celebration, featuring fireworks, light shows and live music.
