Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, hosted a major milestone in the world of eSports. The first eSports World Cup, which ended on August 25, went down in history as a massive eight-week event. A total of $60 million in prizes were distributed to professional eSports players. Here are the details…
First eSports World Cup in Saudi Arabia: The biggest in history with a prize pool of $60 million
The giant tournament was attended by approximately 1,500 professional gamers from around the world and became the largest prize pool event in eSports history with a prize pool of $60 million. The huge prize pool also surpassed last year’s Gamers8 event, which was also held in Saudi Arabia and broke the record with a prize pool of $45 million.
The mega event held in Riyadh attracted not only players but also millions of visitors to Saudi Arabia. During the tournament, Riyadh hosted more than 2 million visitors, a 29% increase compared to the same period last year. This figure once again showed how Saudi Arabia has become a major center of attraction in the field of eSports and tourism.
The eSports World Cup was filled with tournaments across a variety of popular games. Games like Apex Legends, CS2, Dota 2, EA Sports FC 24, Fortnite, Free Fire, League of Legends, PUBG, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, and Street Fighter 6 provided fierce competition. One of the highlights of the tournament was when Chinese player “Xiaohai” Zeng Zhuojun defeated his Japanese opponent KAWANO 5:2 to win the Street Fighter 6 tournament championship. This victory earned Zhuojun the grand prize of $300,000.
At the closing ceremony, Saudi authorities announced that the second eSports World Cup will be held again in the summer of 2025. The event, which will take place in 2025, seems to have a big impact on the eSports world again. What do you think? You can write your opinions in the comments section below.