The Esports World Cup attracted an unprecedented audience and packed the venue during the opening half of the event.
RIYADH: The Esports World Cup, the world’s largest esports tournament and festival, has entered its second half after attracting unprecedented viewership and live participation for its inaugural event at Boulevard Riyadh City.
The Esports World Cup Foundation, the non-profit organization that hosts the EWC, announced that a total of 177.5 million hours were watched over the first four weeks, with a number of individual events taking the top spot. In addition, $16.5 million of the tournament’s $60 million prize pool was shared across nine of the 22 championship events. The tournament’s daily festivities attracted more than one million viewers during the first half of the main event, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, said: “After a fast-paced four weeks, the Esports World Cup has exceeded our wildest expectations. When we started this journey, our goal was to make a huge leap forward in the esports industry with a historic global event that would bring together the best games, players and clubs, and reach fans beyond the core esports enthusiasts, while also reaching the 3.4 billion gamers around the world. I am proud that we are on track to achieve that goal in Riyadh, with hundreds of millions of viewers at home and over a million visitors on-site, not only shattering our expectations but also setting new records for esports in 2024. The EWC has already awarded over $16 million in life-changing prize money, with millions more to come, including a top prize of $20 million for the Esports World Cup Club Championship to be held later in August.”
Viewing and social highlights
During the first four weeks of the Esports World Cup, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang recorded its highest viewership of the tournament, reaching nearly 2.4 million viewers, the highest viewership for an MLBB tournament in 2024. The game’s popularity extended to the MLBB Women’s Invitational at EWC, where it logged a total of 2.5 million hours watched over the course of the 34-hour broadcast. With a peak viewership of 265,117, it was the fourth-highest-watched event in women’s esports history. Mobile games generally exceeded viewership expectations for EWC, with Free Fire recording a peak concurrent viewership of over 441,000.
Two of the most popular PC multiplayer online battle arena games set EWC viewership records. Dota 2 was the most-watched gaming tournament of the year with 55 million hours watched, while League of Legends was the biggest third-party tournament of the past decade with 53 million hours watched and a peak viewership of 3.4 million (including China).
The EWC attracts a huge fan base across social media. The EWC accounts have garnered over 1 billion combined views, 270 million social media video views and 58 million total social media engagements, a testament to the esports community’s global reach and reach across the globe.
Participation Highlights
The first half of the EWC saw more than one million visitors join the epic experience at the Boulevard City venue in Riyadh. The venue alone attracted 289,000 attendees, while the esports tournament has already sold over 60,000 tickets. The esports event is just under 3,000 tickets away from selling out, with four weeks and 13 events remaining. Single-day EWC tickets have sold out for all events, while the POWR Villa and the Falcons headquarters are fully booked through August 17.
In Week 3, EWC hosted international football superstars Neymar and Diogo Jota. As esports enthusiasts, the two athletes experienced the energetic atmosphere of the Counter-Strike 2 event.
“Participating in the first ever Esports World Cup has been an incredible experience,” said Jota. “The organisation and scale behind the event has been impressive, even more so than I could have imagined. I have always believed in the potential of esports, even before starting my own team, and the EWC is proof that the industry is evolving rapidly. This level of investment and infrastructure is exactly what esports needs to grow and reach a wider audience. I am excited to see how the EWC continues to develop and expand the boundaries of the game.”
Competition Highlights
The EWC has awarded $16.5 million in prize money to the winners of the nine Championships, plus $450,000 in MVP awards. Over $44 million in prize money will be awarded over the final four weeks of the competition, covering the remaining 13 Championships and Club Championships.
Team Falcons currently lead the Esports World Cup Club Championship with 3,500 points, 2,330 more than second-place Team Liquid. The Club Championship is an innovative cross-game tournament format unique to the EWC, featuring a $20 million prize pool that will reward the top 16 clubs based on their overall performance. At the end of the tournament, the top performing club over the 22-game Championship will be crowned the first-ever Esports World Cup Club Champion.
The first four weeks were full of twists and turns and standout performances. At the record-breaking $500,000 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women's Invitational, Smart Omega Empress defeated tournament favorites Team Vitality to take home the $180,000 top prize. In Overwatch 2, Crazy Raccoon advanced by winning 15 of 17 maps played to take home the trophy and $400,000. In League of Legends, global superstar Faker led defending world champions T1 to a 3-1 victory over Top Esports, adding yet another international trophy to his competitive career.
End of the Week
The biggest weekend in esports history is coming up on August 24-25, as the inaugural EWC comes to a close.
On August 24, the 2024 Esports Awards, the most prestigious awards ceremony in esports, will honor the highest achievers in the business from around the world. Awards will be given to clubs, athletes, content creators, games, and more. Highlights include a Lifetime Achievement Party, red carpet, esports village, and a spectacular awards ceremony, which last year attracted more than 22 million viewers.
The second edition of the two-day New Global Sport Conference kicks off on August 24, bringing together leaders from esports, gaming, business, sports and entertainment to explore “The Future of Fandom.” 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 speaker lineup 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, with the first Esports World Cup Club Champion crowned and awarded with their own $20 million Club Championship prize pool. The EWC Closing Ceremony will invite clubs, players and fans to join in a spectacular celebration featuring fireworks, light shows and live music.
