Esports World Cup achieves unprecedented viewership numbers and sell-outs in the first half of the inaugural event
RIYADH: The Esports World Cup, the world's largest esports competition and festival, has entered the second half of its competition after its inaugural event at Boulevard Riyadh City recorded unprecedented viewership and live attendance.
The Esports World Cup Foundation, the non-profit organization that runs the EWC, has announced a total of 177.5 million hours of viewing for the first four weeks, with several individual tournaments setting new viewership records. In addition, a total of $16.5 million of the record-breaking $60 million prize pool was distributed across nine of 22 championships. The event's daily festival attracted more than a million visitors during the first half of the landmark event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“After just four 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 overhaul the esports industry with a historic global event that brings together the best games, players and clubs, and reach fans beyond core esports enthusiasts while engaging the 3.4 billion gamers around the world. I am proud that we are well on our way to achieving this goal here in Riyadh, with hundreds of millions of viewers at home and over a million visitors on site. In doing so, we have not only exceeded our expectations, but also broken many esports records for 2024. The EWC has awarded more than $16 million in life-changing prize money to date, with millions more to come, including the ultimate prize – a $20 million share of the Esports World Cup Club Championship in late August.”
Audience numbers and social highlights
During the first four weeks of the Esports World Cup, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang recorded the event's highest viewership with nearly 2.4 million viewers, the highest number of any MLBB tournament in 2024. The game's popularity also extended to the MLBB Women's Invitational at EWC, where 2.5 million hours were watched during the 34-hour total broadcast. It became the fourth most-watched event in women's esports history with 265,117 viewers at its peak. Mobile games in general exceeded viewership expectations at EWC, with Free Fire attracting more than 441,000 viewers at its peak.
On PC, two popular multiplayer online battle arena games set new viewership records at EWC. With 55 million hours of viewers, the Dota 2 competition was the most watched tournament for the game this year, while the League of Legends competition was the biggest third-party tournament for the game in the last decade, recording 53 million hours of viewers and 3.4 million peak viewers (including China).
The EWC has generated a high level of fan engagement on social media, with accounts recording more than one billion total impressions, 270 million social video views and 58 million total social engagements, a testament to the resonance the event has within the global esports community and beyond.
Visitor highlights
During the first half of the EWC, more than a million visitors attended the massive on-site experience at Boulevard City in Riyadh. The festival venues alone have attracted 289,000 visitors, while the esports competitions have sold more than 60,000 tickets to date. The esports events are less than 3,000 tickets away from a complete sell-out, with four weeks and 13 competitions still to go. The EWC day pass for the entire tournament is sold out, while the POWR Villa and Falcons HQ are fully booked until August 17.
In week 3, international football superstars Neymar and Diogo Jota were guests at the EWC. As enthusiastic e-sports fans, both athletes enjoyed the energetic atmosphere surrounding the Counter-Strike 2 event.
“Being here at the first Esports World Cup is a truly incredible experience,” said Jota. “The organization and scale of this event is truly impressive, even more than I expected. I have always believed in the potential of esports, even before I started my own team, and EWC is proof that this scene is evolving rapidly. This level of investment and infrastructure is exactly what esports needs to grow and reach a wider audience. I am excited to see how EWC continues to evolve and push the boundaries of competitive gaming.”
Highlights of the competition
The EWC has already awarded $16.5 million in prize money across nine tournament championships and another $450,000 in MVP awards. Over the final four weeks of competition, more than $44 million in prize money will be awarded across the remaining 13 championships and the Club Championship.
Currently, Team Falcons sits atop the Esports World Cup Club Championship leaderboard with 3,500 points, 2,330 points ahead of second-place Team Liquid. The Club Championship, an innovative cross-game competition format unique to the EWC and featuring its own $20 million prize pool, rewards the top 16 clubs based on their overall performance. At the end of the event, the best-performing club across the 22 game championships will be crowned the world's first Esports World Cup Club Champions.
The first four weeks brought a number of surprises and dominating performances. In the record-breaking Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women's Invitational with a prize pool of $500,000, Smart Omega Empress beat tournament favorites Team Vitality to win the $180,000 grand prize. In the Overwatch 2 tournament, Crazy Raccoon stormed through the bracket, winning 15 of 17 maps played and taking home the trophy and $400,000. And in League of Legends, global superstar Faker led reigning world champions T1 to a 3-1 victory over Top Esports, adding another international accolade to his illustrious career.
Final weekend
With the conclusion of the first EWC on August 24th and 25th, the biggest weekend in e-sports history will take place.
On August 24, the Esports Awards 2024, the most prestigious night in esports, will honor the best in the industry from every corner of the globe, celebrating clubs, athletes, content creators, games and more. Highlights of the evening include the Lifetime Achievement Mixer, a red carpet event, the Esports Village and the star-studded awards ceremony itself, which attracted more than 22 million viewers last year.
The second two-day New Global Sport Conference kicks off on August 24, bringing together leading figures from esports, gaming, business, sport and entertainment to explore “The Future of Fandom”. Thought leaders from around the world will discuss the impact of fandom on business planning, content, IP and media rights, marketing and community building. Previous speakers include: 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 end on August 25th with the crowning of the first Esports World Cup club champion and the awarding of their share of the $20 million Club Championship prize pool. The EWC Closing Ceremony will then bring clubs, players and fans together for a spectacular celebration with fireworks, light shows and live music.
