Esports World Cup: League of Legends and Warzone Kick Off Eight Week Event
The Esports World Cup (EWC) in Saudi Arabia has kicked off with a bang. The League of Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone events wrapped up over the weekend, drawing significant attention from the global esports community.
League of Legends Tournament Sees 12.4 Million Hours of Watchtime
The League of Legends tournament, held at Qiddiya Arena in Riyadh, featured eight top teams and a prize pool of $1 million. Despite some challenges, such as Gen.G's underperformance and the lack of YouTube broadcasts for Korean audiences, the event recorded 12.4 million hours watched over 22 hours of airtime.
The tournament saw over a million peak viewers, making it the third most-watched League of Legends event of 2024. This is partially due to the tournament featuring major international teams, with Korea’s T1 generating 8.8 million hours watched across their matches alone.
T1 emerged victorious in the tournament, defeating China's Top Esports in the grand finals and taking home the $400,000 prize and 1,000 club points for the club championship.
What Is The Club Championship?
The club championship race runs alongside the Esports World Cup. Teams/participants competing in the EWC are awarded points for placing in the top 8 of specific tournaments, however, the likelihood of being in the top 8 depends on the tournament. For example, the League of Legends tournament featured eight teams, so all will receive club championship points for their organisations, whereas the upcoming Apex Legends tournament will feature 40 teams.
Organisations are competing in a varied number of tournaments, with some only competing in three or four, whereas others will compete in almost all of them. Some organisations are noted to have signed teams competing in the EWC to improve their chances in the rankings.
The top 16 organisations in the championship ranking will each win part of the $20 million prize pool, with first place taking home a staggering $7 million.
Warzone Tournament Is Second Most-Watched Warzone Event Of The Year
Meanwhile, the Warzone tournament saw home team Team Falcons take the top spot after eight intense matches. Although it had a lower viewership compared to League of Legends, with a peak of 135,000 viewers, it still became the second most-watched Warzone event of the year.
What Is The Esports World Cup?
The Esports World Cup is organised by the Esports World Cup Foundation and funded by the Saudi Arabian government, which has drawn some criticism due to the country's human rights record. Nonetheless, the event is set to continue throughout July and August, featuring more tournaments including Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Dota 2.
The Esports World Cup has shown the dominance of Asian teams in League of Legends, with Chinese and Korean teams taking most of the top spots in terms of popularity.
As the EWC continues, fans can expect more high-stakes matches and thrilling gameplay. The event promises to be a highlight in the esports calendar, showcasing the best talent from around the world.
