The inaugural Esports World Cup has taken Saudi Arabia and the global gaming community by storm since its grand introduction on July 3, presenting attendees and international audiences with premier competition at a scale never seen before.
Running for eight weeks until August 25 at Boulevard Riyadh City, the Esports World Cup is a global celebration of competitive excellence and esports fandom. It features a unique cross-game structure, pitting the world’s top clubs and athletes against one another with a record-breaking $60 million prize pool on offer across 22 global competitions in 21 leading games.
With the biggest moment in esports history now well underway, those closest to the event have opened up on the sensational reaction and reception from audiences far and wide. Having blasted off in a blaze of glory with spectacular tournaments and incredible viewership both in person and online, Week 1 has been hailed as “amazing” and “a phenomenal success”.
Reflecting on Esports World Cup’s opening week, Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, said: “It’s been an amazing first week at the Esports World Cup and as tournament host, there’s nothing more rewarding for us than the incredible reaction and reception we’ve seen – not only from fans in attendance but also the millions more following from afar around the world. We’ve seen something beyond our wildest expectations.”
The inaugural event got underway in Riyadh last Wednesday with His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, Chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation, hailing the Esports World Cup as “a defining day in esports history”.
Following an unforgettable opening ceremony where pyrotechnics and drone shows marked the start of the summer-long extravaganza, four tournaments headlined the opening week within the state-of-the-art SEF Arena: Call of Duty: Warzone, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, League of Legends, and Dota 2.
Faisal bin Homran, Chief Product Officer at the Esports World Cup Foundation, insisted that bringing together the world’s biggest and best games under one banner has fulfilled the dreams of every gaming fan. He said:“The opening week of the Esports World Cup has been a phenomenal success and truly exceeded expectations. The reaction from gaming fans, both in person at Boulevard Riyadh City and virtually from every corner of the globe, has proven every thought we ever had about why the Esports World Cup would be so popular. For years, the global community has craved being able to watch the best clubs and the best players performing in titles that everyone wants to watch – and, hosted in Riyadh, the Esports World Cup has fully fulfilled that desire.”
Among the many Week 1 highlights were the conclusions of the Call of Duty: Warzone and League of Legends competitions on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Befitting such an incredible event taking place in Saudi Arabia, the first final was won by a club from the Kingdom – with Team Falcons crowned Call of Duty: Warzone champions. Meanwhile, inspired by Faker, “the Michael Jordan of esports”, South Korean club T1 became the Esports World Cup winner of the League of Legends competition.
Commenting on the Esports World Cup Call of Duty: Warzone and League of Legends competitions, Ralf Reichert added: “Sports is always a tale of winners and losers where people come together in one place in time to share one emotion – excitement. Both finals this weekend, for Call of Duty: Warzone and League of Legends, brought this sort of a spectacle to the Esports World Cup that the event is worthy of. This was the best we could have hoped for: both were sold out and both had fantastic energy thanks to so many passionate fans in the room. Everything we do is for them – and they are the reason why the Esports World Cup is here.”
Faisal bin Homran also applauded hometown heroes Team Falcons on their historic victory. He said: “A special mention to Team Falcons, the Saudi Arabian club who became the first winner of a tournament at the Esports World Cup. At a packed SEF Arena, their Call of Duty: Warzone triumph showed the gaming world that Saudi sides are a force to be reckoned with. We look forward immensely to the remaining seven weeks of the Esports World Cup, confident that what comes next will be even bigger and better than the incredible beginning.”
The Esports World Cup aligns with Saudi Arabia’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy, which aims to position the Kingdom as a global gaming and esports epicenter and contribute $13 billion to national GDP by 2030.
Week 2 of the Esports World Cup begins on Wednesday (July 10) with quarter-final action from Mobile Legends: Bang Bang locked in alongside the first Dota 2 group stage matches.
The $1 million Free Fire competition also gets underway the same day with all three tournaments taking place daily throughout Week 2 – which concludes next Sunday (July 14).
For more information on scheduling and results, please visit the Esports World Cup website.
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