The Esports World Cup draws unprecedented crowds, with sellout crowds in the first half of the inaugural event
RIYADH: The Esports World Cup, the world's largest sports competition and festival, has entered the second half of the competition after attracting unprecedented live audiences and attendances at its inaugural event at Boulevard Riyadh City.
The Esports World Cup Foundation, the non-profit organization that hosts EWC, announced a total of 177.5 million hours watched in the first four weeks, with a number of individual tournaments setting viewership highs. Additionally, a total of $16.5 million of the event's record $60 million prize pool was distributed across nine of the 22 total championships. The event's daily festival attracted over one million visitors in the first half of the landmark event taking place 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 transcend the esports industry with a historic global event that would bring together the best games, players and clubs, and reach fans beyond the core sports fans while accessing the 3.4 billion players worldwide. I am proud that we are on track to achieve this goal here in Riyadh, with hundreds of millions of spectators at home and over a million visitors on site, shattering not only our expectations but also a lot of esports records in 2024. EWC has awarded more than $16 million in life-changing prizes so far, with millions more to come, including the ultimate prize – a $20 million stake in the Esports World Cup Club Championship at the end of the month August.
Viewing and social moments
In the first four weeks of the Esports World Cup, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang saw the event's largest viewership peak with nearly 2.4 million competitors, the most for any MLBB tournament since 2024. The game's popularity has expanded to MLBB Women's Invitational at EWC, recording 2.5 million hours watched over the total 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 over 441,000 top competitors.
On PC, two popular online multiplayer battle arena games set the bar high for viewers at EWC. With 55 million hours watched, competitive Dota 2 was the most-watched tournament for the game this year, while competitive League of Legends was the biggest third-party tournament for the game in the last decade, clocking in 53 million hours watched and 3.4 million peak viewers (including China).
EWC attracted high engagement from fans on social media. Its accounts have collectively clocked over one billion impressions, 270 million social video views and 58 million total social engagements, a testament to the event's resonance with the global eSports community and beyond.
Presence highlighting
In the first half of EWC, over one million visitors attended the massive on-site experience at Boulevard City in Riyadh. The festival venues alone attracted 289,000 visitors, while the sports competitions have so far sold more than 60,000 tickets. The esports events are less than 3,000 tickets away from being completely sold out with four weeks and 13 more competitions to go. The EWC Day Pass has sold out for the entire tournament, while POWR Villa and HQ Falcons are fully booked until August 17.
In Week 3, EWC hosted international soccer superstars Neymar and Diogo Jota. As avid sports fans, both athletes took advantage of the high-energy atmosphere surrounding the Counter-Strike 2 event.
“Being here at the inaugural Esports World Cup is a truly amazing experience,” said Jota. “The organization and scale behind this event is truly impressive, even more than we anticipated. I've always believed in the potential of esports, even before starting my own team, and EWC is proof that this scene is rapidly evolving. This level of investment and infrastructure is exactly what sports needs to grow and reach a wider audience. I'm excited to see how EWC continues to evolve and push the boundaries of competitive gaming.”
Competition highlights
The EWC has already awarded $16.5 million in prize money across nine tournament championships and another $450,000 in MVP awards. More than $44 million in prize money will be awarded in the final four weeks of competition, covering the remaining 13 championships and the club championship.
Team Falcons currently sits atop the Esports World Cup Club Championship standings with 3,500 points, 2,330 ahead of second place Team Liquid. The Club Championship, an innovative crossover competition format distinctive to the EWC with a dedicated prize pool of $20 million, rewards the top 16 clubs based on their overall performance. At the conclusion of the event, the best performing club from the 22 gaming championships will be crowned the first Esports World Cup Club World Champion.
The first four weeks have provided a series of upsets and dominant performances. In the record-breaking $500,000 Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women's Invitational, Smart Omega Empress upset tournament favorite Team Vitality to claim the $180,000 top prize. In the Overwatch 2 tournament, Crazy Raccoon cruised 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 defending world champions T1 to a 3-1 victory over Top Esports, adding yet another international accolade to his storied career.
Closing weekend
The biggest weekend in sports history will take place on August 24-25 as the inaugural EWC draws to a close.
On August 24, the Esports Awards 2024, the most prestigious evening in esports, will honor the best in the business from every corner of the world, celebrating clubs, athletes, content creators, games and more. Highlights of the evening will include the Lifetime Achievement Mixer, Red Carpet Event, Esports Village and the star-studded awards ceremony, which last year attracted more than 22 million viewers.
The second two-day conference will kick off on August 24 as it brings 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, intellectual property rights and media, marketing and community building. The lineup of speakers to date 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, when the first Esports World Cup Club Champion is crowned and awarded his share of the $20 million Club Championship prize pool. The EWC Closing Ceremony will then welcome clubs, players and fans to come together for a spectacular celebration with fireworks, a light show and live music.
