The upcoming Esports World Cup, a multi-game esports event set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will have a total prize pool of $60m (~£48.1m).
The Esports World Cup Foundation revealed that the prize pool will be divided into four segments: the Club Championship ($20m), Game Championships ($30m+), Qualifiers ($7.6m), and the MVP Awards ($1.1m).
The total prize pool is the largest ever to be given out at an esports event, $15m more than the current record holder Gamers8. The Esports World Cup replaces Gamers8 as the premier esports event in Saudi Arabia and will take place over eight weeks later this year.
The distribution of the prize pool is interesting. The Club Championship is a format in which esports organisations from around the world compete across a series of titles for $20m. The format will see ‘Clubs’ or organisations compete in several games and the organisation with the best performance across selected titles will earn the largest share of the prize pool.
The largest part of the prize pool are the Game Championships. These tournaments include the likes of Dota 2’s Riyadh Masters, as well as numerous other standalone tournaments across 19 games. The likes of League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Rocket League, PUBG, Rainbow Six, Fortnite, MLBB and many others will hold events. According to the Esports World Cup Foundation, the prize pool might end up being larger than $30m.
The remaining prize pool will be distributed to the teams that qualify for the events and players that perform well throughout the tournaments. These will amount to around $7m and $1.1m, respectively.
Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, commented: “Setting the record for largest esports prize pool is a remarkable achievement, but what I’m most proud of is the positive message this sends to the wider esports and gaming community.
“More than $60m is a testament to our investment in the future of global esports, a commitment to esports fans who deserve exceptional events, and an extension of our mission to create meaningful competitive opportunities with life-changing prize pools for esports athletes everywhere.”
Backed by the Saudi-Arabian government, The Esports World Cup is part of one of the country’s many initiatives to expand into the gaming and esports sector. Earlier this month, esports tournament organiser ESL FACEIT Group secured a five-year deal with Saudi megaproject Qiddiya City. Saudi-government-backed company Savvy Games Group has also owned ESL FACEIT Group since merging the companies in 2022.
