How the Esports World Cup is hoping to change the future of esports Esports World CupThe Esports World Cup is shaping up to be one of the biggest esports events of all time, with a $60 million dollar prize pool enticing orgs to participate in one of the 19 confirmed titles across an 8-week tournament. Everything from traditional sports games, MOBAs, fighting games, and shooters will be on display at the tournament, all of them featuring some of the biggest names in esports. And with organizations incentivized to pick up teams in new games for this event, the industry has seen a massive amount of growth in a very short time even before the tournament kicks off as teams accepted into the EWC partner program I spoke with many of the competing players, as well as Cloud9 CEO Jack Etienne and Chief Games Officer Fabian Scheuermann, who put together the event\u2019s game lineup, to get a full view of what everyone\u2019s hoping the Esports World Cup will achieve. Bringing the whole esports world together The esports industry has grown massively over the past decade, as what started as a relatively niche interest has ballooned into a massive ecosystem that has certainly had some growing pains. This has also resulted in a rather disjointed system where not every esport is built the same. For instance, franchised esports leagues like that of Riot Games\u2019 esports ventures ensures that orgs that commit to the franchise will get their chance in the spotlight. Meanwhile, fighting games and other open-bracket esports like TFT present the risk of your player getting knocked out in pools and not even getting time on stream. Being an organization that exists across multiple esports requires not only a lot of capital, but a lot of risk as well. If your team isn\u2019t at the top, then sponsors aren\u2019t paying, and no single approach works for every game. The Esports World Cup Foundation aims to bolster the entire industry by propping up the biggest orgs in the world and encouraging them to get involved by offering incentives to sign teams across a variety of esports. 30 organizations, to be exact. All of them were given a six-figure stipend purely to front the bill to invest in new esports teams. Additionally, $20 million of the overall $60 million prize pool is reserved for organizations, meaning a significant portion of the money up for grabs is reserved for the orgs themselves. And, although this announcement was recent, the process of picking these orgs has been going on for quite a while. This is most apparent if we look to the fighting game community, an area of esports that\u2019s historically risky to get into and hard for orgs to justify. Falcons signing Saint (Tekken 8), Vitality signing JEonDDing (Tekken 8), Cloud9 signing JB (Street Fighter 6), the effects of this partnership program have been immediate and apparent even before it was officially announced. Niche esports communities getting more players involved who can compete full-time will only raise the level of competition and grow the scene. Joey Fury spoke with us on this issue when he signed onto FaZe Clan in 2023, and his word back then says a lot about how big a deal this is for smaller esports communities to get more full-time competitors: \u201cThere have been stretches throughout this Tekken career, if you want to call it that, where I have been working. And those were definitely the hardest periods. Trying to work a 9-5 during the day, and then come home and enter a late-night online bracket. If you win, you\u2019re probably gonna be up \u2019til like, two in the morning, and then your sleep is wrecked for the whole week. It\u2019s really challenging. Anybody who\u2019s working full-time and succeeding in Tekken has my utmost respect, because it\u2019s really hard,\u201d he explained. However, this growth isn\u2019t unique to the FGC, either, and don\u2019t be surprised to see more and more teams get signed across several esports at the EWC as we get closer to the event. Cloud9 CEO Jack Etienne was certainly excited for the effect this tournament would have on esports big and small, with some games getting a big international event where they otherwise wouldn\u2019t have one. \u201cI am very excited by this competition. International events in esports are always the most hype events. But there are a lot of games that don\u2019t have these big stages to play on. And, the type of dollars that are being invested into the prize pools for these players, for a lot of these regions, is life-changing for them. They can actually focus full-time on the game they absolutely love. And, for fans who are watching, like fans of these of these esports, who may not have had a big stage opportunity for big dollars, it\u2019s super exciting for them.\u201d However, this is just as exciting for big esports like League of Legends who only have a few international events a year that bring the world\u2019s best teams together. \u201cClosed-off systems, like League of Legends hasn\u2019t had, like, events that are not thrown by [Riot] for a long time. And we\u2019ve been, you know, used to two international events, essentially, a year. Adding one more event is a massive increase in the number of international events that we see.\u201d He added that he was shocked to see so many publishers leaping at the opportunity to get behind this event and have their games shown on a new international stage. \u201cI was surprised to see how many publishers are getting behind this event, to allow esports to grow. This is the type of growth in esports, I think, we haven\u2019t seen in a long time. And there\u2019s never been an event of this scale just for esports.\u201d Faker agreed when we asked him about the topic, among other things, and he\u2019s excited to see League of Legends get more time on the international stage. \u201cBecause it\u2019s an international stage, I\u2019m pretty sure every team will give it their all,\u201d he explained. \u201cI\u2019m happy that we get to have more and more events and tournaments happening internationally under the attention and excitement coming from the fans.\u201d The other players we spoke to were equally excited, and not just because they\u2019ve got a shot at winning millions. Giving new games the biggest stage (and old games a second chance) When it comes to creating an esport, building a meaningful fandom around new games is difficult. Most of the longest-standing esports like Counter-Strike, League of Legends, and DOTA 2 have been around for years and have maintained an audience and fandom. While there are series that iterate and release new entries like CoD, Street Fighter, and Tekken, those games also maintain the storylines from the previous game\u2019s esports scene. Creating an esports sensation from scratch isn\u2019t impossible (looking at you, Valorant), but it\u2019s very hard and requires a lot of things to go right. Moreover, people tend to stick with the games they love watching and playing for years and years. Convincing an audience to give attention to other esports, or getting new viewers into esports who don\u2019t traditionally watch them, is a tall order \u2013 but not an impossible one. There is a way to make it easier, though: Use people\u2019s knowledge and passion for traditional sports to ease them into the esports ecosystem. We spoke with Anders Vejrgang, a young prodigy who\u2019s been taking home trophies in the FIFA (now EA FC) series since he was 11, and he\u2019s ecstatic that he\u2019ll finally get a chance to play on a big stage with high stakes. \u201cLast year, we had [Gamers8] in Saudi Arabia, too. The crowd, they actually supported me for once! (laughs) Usually they\u2019re against me, but this time, they were for me. I\u2019m glad it\u2019s gonna be in Saudi Arabia again. But yeah, when I see the prize pool, I feel like it\u2019s gonna be a big arena again. It\u2019s something that really motivates me. I usually get better when there\u2019s more pressure on, so I\u2019m really looking forward to it. Esports itself will just get bigger.\u201d And, because the tournament is located in Saudi Arabia, several players in the Middle East and elsewhere now have who now have an opportunity to compete for life-changing prize pools without running into Visa issues. Tekken god Arslan Ash voiced his frustration about not being able to compete in EVO Japan, and no one from Pakistan was able to make it to the tournament despite being from one of the game\u2019s strongest regions. But, with the Esports World Cup happening so close to him in a place where he and many other Pakistani players can attend, it eliminates the travel issues that have plagued players from the region. \u201cI never imagined fighting games themselves would become this big, and it\u2019s all thanks to the Esports World Cup. Just its existence is huge. Now everyone in the world is so motivated, and big companies are sponsoring players from all around the world. It\u2019s huge as an ecosystem, it\u2019s good for the teams, good for the players, good for everyone,\u201d Arslan claimed. \u201cEveryone is working hard. Pakistani people, we\u2019ve always had Visa problems. The Esports World Cup is in Saudi Arabia, so we don\u2019t have any Visa problems,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s motivating the core community to work harder and not worry about the Visa stuff.\u201d Apex Legends is yet another esport showing up at the Esports World Cup, and longtime competitor ImperialHal thinks this tournament could be the big step Apex needs to put the ALGS in front of more eyes and take the game\u2019s esports scene to heights it hasn\u2019t yet achieved. \u201cHaving the Esports World Cup is probably the best opportunity we\u2019ve had in Apex in the last five years, ever since the game came out. I think it\u2019s huge, I think everyone should be looking forward to it,\u201d Hal claimed. The EWC is trying to take out much of the risk involved with esports by doing everything they can to incentivize teams to invest in a variety of esports, even if the org never sees a return. By removing the financial risk from less stable esports, the world\u2019s biggest teams finally have a reason to put time into smaller ecosystems and raise the level of play within those scenes substantially. This is something that will obviously be good for the players, and will allow them to pursue the games they\u2019re most passionate about. With all this in mind, we had to ask about why the Esports World Cup exists. What are their goals with this tournament, if not profit? What does the Esports World Cup Foundation hope to achieve? We spoke with the EWC\u2019s Chief Games Officer, Fabian Scheuermann, to ask about the process of putting together their wide range of games, where he wants to take the tournament in the future, and inclusivity that he hopes will create a bigger place for women in esports despite Saudi Arabia\u2019s past showing otherwise. Creating an Esports World Cup for everyone Though there are some games that have a strong global presence like League of Legends, there are others that thrive within their regions and have struggled to grow outside of them. Scheuermann wants to give titles from all around the world a chance to shine. \u201cWe\u2019re doing this for the world, right? And, in order to cover the world correctly, you need to have all the most important AAA games. We\u2019re starting from China with Honor of Kings, down to Free Fire in Latin America, and all the most important AAA global games in between. That is the target, so we needed all of them,\u201d he explained. He also outlined his vision for the EWC and what he wants to do for the industry. Though esports is more popular than ever, organizations and publishers have also struggled when it comes to turning an actual profit and keeping the scene alive. \u201cWe have one very clear vision. We want to leapfrog the esports industry overall. We want to create sustainable infrastructure for everyone and help all of the stakeholders within the ecosystem. So the players, the clubs, the publishers \u2013 who also struggle sometimes with sustainability in esports \u2013 and, of course, the fans.\u201d And, though their current roster of games is already huge, he\u2019s looking to add more next year. He got into some specifics about why Valorant isn\u2019t on the docket, but also hinted that he\u2019s looking into some other big games. \u201cI will not say which ones, but Valorant is one of them, one of four games I have on our shortlist. We\u2019ve been actively discussing with the publishers. The problem was, specifically for Valorant, that the calendar didn\u2019t fit. It\u2019s impossible with the Valorant calendar without moving and creating big hassle for the players with that. We have a long-term vision, it\u2019s only year one. We can grow.\u201d And, while talking about new possibilities for the tournament, new games weren\u2019t the only topic that came up. Though there\u2019s one women\u2019s tournament happening at this year\u2019s Esports World Cup, women\u2019s esports is one of the biggest areas Scheuermann wants to expand into next year. There\u2019s already a women\u2019s Mobile Legends Bang Bang tournament, but he wants to do more. \u201cIt\u2019s more the matter of we can\u2019t bring in more this year because we have, logistically, all the games, the calendar. But we\u2019re planning to expand that in the coming years, and you will for sure see more women\u2019s tournaments next year. I can almost guarantee that.\u201d Team Vitality have already signed a MLBB women\u2019s team ahead of the Esports World Cup, opening the door for more representation and more full-time competitors to spend time honing their craft. He also specified that women\u2019s means all women, dispelling any idea that trans women wouldn\u2019t be welcome. The same is true of any rumors that characters in games selected that represent LGBTQ+ ideals would be unplayable at the Esports World Cup; this is completely untrue according to Scheuermann, and the values each game represented didn\u2019t influence the games he chose whatsoever. However, due to Esports World Cup taking place in and being funded by Saudi Arabia, a country that has historically restricted women\u2019s rights and the rights of LGBTQ+ people, there are some who are hesitant to support the tournament and the organizations participating. Saudi Arabia has come under fire from human rights activists regarding their treatment of women despite their standing in the UN. For instance, 29 year-old Manahel al-Otaibi was jailed in 2024 for going outside without wearing traditional garments and posting about women\u2019s rights activism on social media, something that has caused activists to call for her release. In response to a question regarding the safety of women travelling to compete, as well as LGBTQ+ people, Scheuermann had this to say: \u201cThe kingdom is going through a transformation, everyone is safe. Everyone is welcome. We\u2019ve shown this in the past with other tournaments \u2013 and we\u2019ve shown this in the past with diversity tournaments in the kingdom already \u2013 that you are safe when you\u2019re travelling there.\u201d It\u2019s on the esports organizations and game publishers involved to take full advantage of the opportunity they\u2019ve been given. In order to see any real change, they\u2019ll have to keep players and teams that they\u2019ve invested in past just the scope of this event. The Esports World Cup hasn\u2019t even started yet, but the initiatives around it have already significantly altered the ecosystem by giving the orgs and publishers it\u2019s partnering with a deal that\u2019s too good to refuse. In an industry that\u2019s historically unstable and notoriously difficult to stay afloat in, the EWC hopes to create a more stable, long-lasting ecosystem that can support the biggest names in esports for decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How the Esports World Cup is hoping to change the future of esports Esports World CupThe Esports World Cup is shaping up to be one of the biggest esports events of all time, with a $60 million dollar prize pool enticing orgs to participate in one of the 19 confirmed titles across an 8-week tournament. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66664\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}