The Esports World Cup: A New Era of Opportunity and Competition
Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, has made a groundbreaking announcement. The creation of the Esports World Cup, set to take place in Riyadh in the summer of 2024, will reshape the Esports landscape and provide gamers worldwide with new opportunities for competition.
Replacing Gamers8, a renowned Esports festival held in Saudi Arabia, the Esports World Cup is set to be a massive event. Last year’s Gamers8 featured 20 different competitions across popular titles such as League of Legends, Fortnite, DOTA 2, FIFA 23, Rainbow Six Siege, PUBG Mobile, and Starcraft II.
With an unprecedented prize pool of $45 million, the Esports World Cup will likely attract the most popular games from all genres and have the largest prize pool in Esports history.
India’s mobile-first gaming market is expected to benefit greatly from this tournament. According to the “India Games Market Report 2023” by Niko Partners, 96.8% of gamers in India play on smartphones or tablets. The opportunity to compete in a high-profile tournament with significant prize pools will encourage Indian Esports athletes to diversify into less popular gaming titles, contributing to the growth and diversity of the industry in the country.
Lokesh Suji, Director of the Esports Federation of India and VP of the Asian Esports Federation, sees the Esports World Cup as a monumental moment for the global Esports community. The event’s massive prize pool and variety of titles will motivate Indian Esports athletes and aspiring gamers to broaden their horizons and explore different games. The tournament not only celebrates Esports but also unites the industry’s stakeholders on a global scale.
The 2023 edition of Gamers8 recorded impressive viewership numbers, with a cumulative viewership of 1.3 billion, peak concurrent viewers reaching 1 million, total views reaching 2.09 million, and impressions totaling 3.8 billion. The Esports World Cup is expected to surpass these numbers, providing high visibility and prestige to Indian athletes and attracting more investments from sponsors and venture capitalists.
Esports in India has seen tremendous growth in recent years, with notable achievements in international competitions such as the Asian Games 2022 and the Commonwealth Esports Championships in Birmingham 2022. With the announcement of the Esports World Cup, Indian talents will have another global platform to showcase their skills.
Mayank Prajapati, an Indian Esports athlete who represented India in Street Fighter V: Champion Edition at the Asian Games 2022, sees the Esports World Cup as a window of opportunity for all gamers in India. This event has the potential to motivate Indian players to push their limits and expand the talent pool in various gaming titles, taking the entire sector to new heights.
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