Inaugural Esports World Cup Brings-In Nearly 300K Attendees
ESports is on the rise now more than ever before. During this year’s Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia, the event brought-in nearly 300,000 visitors.
The ongoing Esports World Cup kicked-off on July 4 and is set to run through August 25 in Riyadh. Already, the event has attracted around 289,000 visitors and sold more than 60,000 tickets to competitions, boasting a record prize pool of $60 million (£47m/€54m). Additionally, during its first four weeks, the games drew 177.5 million hours watched and reached 270 million social video views.
Ralf Reichert, executive of the Esports World Cup Foundation, noted in a statement that “after four quick weeks, the Esports World Cup has already surpassed our highest expectations.”
“When we started this journey, our goal was to leapfrog the esports industry with a historic global event uniting the best games, players, and Clubs, and reach fans beyond the core esports enthusiasts, while tapping into the 3.4 billion gamers around the world,” Reichert said. “I’m proud that we’re well on our way to achieving that goal here in Riyadh with hundreds of millions of viewers at home, and over a million visiting onsite, shattering not only our expectations, but also a lot of 2024 esports records.”
This is the first edition of the Esports World Cup, featuring 23 events in 22 different video game titles, including Call of Duty: Warzone, Overwatch 2, Rocket League, Honor of Kings, and Street Fighter 6.
Esports has grown into a billion-dollar industry, and amid the growth of games like League of Legends, Dota 2, Apex Legends, and Fortnite, the International Olympic Committee’s executive board has proposed to make the “Olympic Esports Games.”
The council is slated to vote on the proposal during this year’s summer games in Paris. Already, the IOC said it is in “advanced discussions” and has a possible host for the Esports Games, with a formal announcement set to be made soon.
In a given year, $250,000 can be distributed from esports tournaments, and in 2022, the esports industry was valued at $1.4 billion — something expected to grow to $1.86 billion by 2025. Previously, League of Legends sold-out Madison Square Garden during its two-night run. The IOC also piloted an Olympic Virtual series in the past with the Esports Liaison Group, and during the 2023 Olympic Esports Week in Singapore, more than six million viewers tuned-in.
