The 2025 Esports World Cup is in full swing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with the second day of the second annual video-game-centric competition underway.
At stake across 26 events for 25 different esports is more than $70 million in prize money and bragging rights for the many clubs competing for the championship titles in games including everything from online chess (a new entrant this year) to AAA titles like “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6” and “EA Sports FC 25.”
This year’s event boasts Cristiano Ronaldo as its global ambassador, Post Malone as the headliner of its opening ceremony on Thursday, and Dino of Seventeen, Duckwrth and Telle Smith as the performers of its new anthem, “Til My Fingers Bleed.”
It’s a bold undertaking for a sector that has yet to find real success with a traditional broadcast or cable network, or even a mainstream streamer outside of YouTube and Twitch. Many have tried and failed to crack the code for taking esports to the next level that brings into the same realm as the NBA, NFL, MLB, FIFA and more when it comes to monetization. The viewership is there, the interest is there, the chances for sponsorship and advertising are there — but no leader has really emerged to shape esports into a format that works.
Enter the Esports World Cup, which is live-streaming now on YouTube through the end of the games Aug. 24, and its second annual attempt at taking over that role and paving the way to bring in a wider audience of “non-hardcore” gamers, traditional sports enthusiasts and entertainment industry execs for esports.
On Wednesday, the Esports World Cup Foundation announced it has partnered with global sports marketing agency IMG and The Associated Press to “elevate the broadcast coverage and reach new global audiences.” This will include premium broadcast production, content strategy, global rights management, and international distribution via SNTV, a joint venture between IMG and The Associated Press for this year’s world cup.
During the tournament, IMG will produce more than 50 hours of programming, as well as an original documentary on the second year of the competition, which comes on the heels of Amazon’s Prime Video releasing a docuseries on the inaugural year.
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
IMG’s “EWC Spotlight” show will be available for fans to watch around the world on Fox Sports (U.S.), DAZN (16 countries globally), beIN/TOD (MENA), Channel 7 (Australia), TRT (Turkey), Astro (Malaysia), TAP (Philippines), GOAT (Brazil), Nsports (Brazil), Star Times (South Africa), WHATS TV (Spain), HoyTv (Hong Kong), CHZZK (South Korea) and DirecTV (LatAm), among others.
In an interview conducted in May, Variety spoke with Esports World Cup Foundation CEO Ralf Reichert about the events big ambitions and navigating its partnership with the Saudi Arabian government to realize those goals.
What changes have you made from the inaugural Esports World Cup last year to this year’s event?
The first iteration was high expectation and very little time. So I think our agenda was to deliver a good experience for everyone to come, and that includes all the different stakeholders, which start with the players, goes to the fans, involves the clubs, and, at the end of the day, includes all the game developers and publishers, which build the infrastructure of the sports. And then to give the fans at home a good experience. I think our core delivery, what the Esports World Cup is about is a) to bring all of these different gaming communities together. Historically, games and esports have been very separated, specifically, esports across these disciplines and the Esports World Cup, for the first time we’re seeing all of these games come together. So we expanded it to 25 different games. I think that is the one side of what really is important and will be the difference almost going forward. And the other side is that we find the best clubs in the world. Esports, other than traditional sports, is built much more on a club basis than on a national team basis.
If you look at most traditional sports, they kind of evolved around the traditional nations-based ecosystem. And that was based on logistical challenges hundreds of years ago, when they started to compete. Esports never had this barrier, which means that the whole ecosystem was built around clubs. So clubs are the original way the sport is executed, and finding that best clubs in the world is our second core promise. Bringing all the games together, finding the best clubs, and while doing that, making these players stars and having fans engaged. And to do this better, both on a simple scale — How do we present it? How many people are going to visit? How many people watch one thing? — but also making it more accessible for non-hardcore esports fans, I think that’s the other side of the matter that we’re trying to dramatically improve.
On a logistical level, as we’re looking at the increasing difficulties in entering and exiting the U.S. under the current presidential administration, and ongoing concerns about travel in the Middle East, how has the Esports World Cup prepared for players and fans to attend the show and what safety measures are in place?
I think there’s three things about it. One, the Esports World Cup is like any international major sport event, fully supported by the government, which led to number two, which is we even have an Esports visa. This is the first in the world. Last year, already we had an Esports visa and we have the same thing this year, which is incredibly important for both fans and players, because it dramatically makes the already easy visa process even easier and more affordable. And number three, the kingdom is changing from where it was 10 years ago to the future with [its tourism initiative] Vision 2030, it has a clear agenda to become a tourist destination.
So as a simple function of this, coming to the kingdom making sure that all fans and tourists are safe, you’re safe and have a great time is almost like a societal task. The whole government is helping us to make this as smooth as possible. And that starts with the visa, but ends up with public transportation within Riyadh, and to and from the airport. All of that works together, like from the largest traditional sports events. And that’s a first for esports to be able to deliver that.
The entertainment industry has tried and failed to find big success when it comes to broadcasting esports on linear channels and even big streamers for various reasons, including the barrier to entry for non-gamers. What is your ultimate goal when it comes to partnership and distribution plans for the Esports World Cup over the next five to 10 years?
It’s a few elements. Historically, the industry has tried to bring the core broadcasts to traditional media stations, and that wasn’t a fit, and that didn’t work, because the fans continue to watch on Twitch and YouTube. I think what we will do, and this will happen this year, is to bring more magazine, more curated content, more show content, which, at the core around the sport, will have a much clearer entertainment focus to much wider audience.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
From Variety US