Esports World Cup 2024: Full list of games, format, schedule and more

Part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative, the Esports World Cup will launch its inaugural edition across eight weeks from July 3rd to August 25th, 2024.

Taking place in the country’s capital, Riyadh, the tournament will feature a total prize pool of over $60m (~£48.1m), 21 prominent esports titles and a Club Championship, making it one of the industry’s biggest events in 2024.

Hosted by the Saudi-government-backed Esports World Cup Foundation, it is worth noting that the tournament has been met with criticism from sections of the esports community since its inception. This is due to the government’s investment in the scene, which has raised concerns over the Middle Eastern country’s human rights record, particularly surrounding women’s and LGBTQ+ rights. 

This article details every game that will be featured in the tournament, alongside prize pools, formats, schedules and additional information.

Editor’s note: This piece will be updated if more information becomes available. First published: 03/05/24

The Esports World Cup Club Championship is a unique competition that rewards the top 16 organisations with its own separate prize pool of $20m (~£15.9m). The team that consistently performs the best across the eight weeks will be crowned the Club Champion.

Leading up to the event, the rules for the Club Championship have been released. Firstly, to win the Club Championship a team must win at least one tournament. Moreover, to be eligible to take part in the Club Championship teams must finish in the top eight in at least two EWC tournaments.

Each of the 21 events taking place at the event will also have point distributions based on a team’s placing. The point distribution does differ depending on the event. However, most of the tournaments provide 1,000 points for first, 600 points for second, 275 points for third/fourth and 60 points for teams between fifth and eighth.

This initiative is part of the Esports World Cup Foundation’s push to encourage esports organisations to form teams across multiple disciplines. The EWC Club Programme has also provided funding opportunities for a total of 30 esports organisations. The names of these organisations were revealed on May 6th, with the likes of G2 Esports, FaZe Clan and T1 featured.

The Esports World Cup Foundation did note that being part of the programme does not guarantee entry into the Esports World Cup.

Apex Legends was confirmed to be a part of the Esports World Cup on April 12th. Taking place July 31st – August 4th, the event will feature a total of 40 teams and a $2m (~£1.55m) prize pool. In total 32 teams were invited to compete in the event based on ALGS S1 league placements. The remaining eight were decided by qualifiers.

The game’s announcement led to concerns about whether the game’s LGBTQ+ characters would be featured in the tournament. Respawn, the game’s developer, clarified in a statement to Kotaku that it won’t be restricting any characters or cosmetics for the Esports World Cup. 

Esports World Cup’s Counter-Strike 2 competition will take place from July 17th-21th. In total, 15 teams from around the world will compete for a share of its $1m (~£796,000) prize pool. 

Organised by the ESL and the Esports World Cup Foundation, teams have made it to the event through a combination of invites and regional qualifiers. The winners of two prominent Counter-Strike tournaments — Team Spirit (IEM Katowice 2024 champions) and Natus Vincere (PGL Major Copenhagen champions) — were invited to Riyadh.

Joining the organisations are the top seven teams from the ESL World ranking, which features the likes of G2 Esports, FaZe Clan and MOUZ. The remaining four teams were decided through regional qualifiers in South America (MIBR), Oceania (FlyQuest), Asia (The MongolZ) and the Middle East (JijieHao).

Alongside Call of Duty: Warzone, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III was one of the last titles to be selected as part of the Esports World Cup.

The event, set to take place from August 15th – 18th, will have 16 total teams and a $1.8m (~£1.39m) prize pool. Not every team has been announced for the event, however, the likes of Toronto Ultra, Cloud 9, Atlanta FaZe and Team Heretics have been confirmed as participants.

Commencing July 3rd until July 6th, Esports World Cup’s Call of Duty: Warzone event is one of the first games in the multi-week tournament. Overall, a total of 21 teams will compete for the title’s $1m (~£796,000) prize pool. The invite-only event features the likes of Guild Esports, Team Vitality, NAVI and Team Falcons.

The Riyadh Masters is returning in 2024 after originally being a part of Saudi Arabia’s multi-title esports event Gamers8 last year. 

The tournament, taking place July 4th – 21st, sees 20 teams battle it out for its $5m (~£4.67m) prize pool, the highest figure of any individual event. Qualification is linked to the ESL Pro Tour Leaderboard, alongside regional qualifiers. Some teams competing in the event include Team Liquid, Team Falcons and Tundra Esports.

EA FC 2024’s Esports World Cup 2024 event sees players qualify for the event through DreamHack Dallas (two) and DreamHack Summer (six) in Sweden. On top of this, top players will receive a direct invite to the tournament. In total, 16 players will compete in the event, which is set to occur August 15th – 18th. A £1m (~£796,000) prize pool was also later announced for the tournament.

EA Sports has clarified that the tournament will not be a part of its EA FC Pro ecosystem.

The next game on the list is Fortnite, however, it will be slightly different from what is normally seen from the Battle Royale title. The Esports World Cup Foundation has said that it will be creating a brand-new ‘competitive UEFN (Unreal Editor for Fortnite) island experience’. The 4v4 custom game mode will see players compete using Capture The Flag and Hardpoint.

In terms of qualification for the event, this has been decided through a range of qualifiers with the top six participants from DreamHack Dallas also invited to the tournament. Overall, 16 teams will compete for the event’s $1m (~£796,000) prize pool.

Free Fire is the first game on this list that has its Esports World 2024 event directly integrated into its official global esports ecosystem. Teams will qualify for the event through official Free Fire World Series (FFWS) competitions across different regions. Furthermore, the winner of the competition will also earn a slot in the FFWS Global Finals 2024. 

The event is set to take place from July 10th-14th, with 18 teams locking horns for its $1m (~£796,000) prize pool. 

Riyadh is set to play host to the Honor of Kings Invitational Midseason as 12 teams compete for a share of its $3m (~£2.4m) prize pool. 

Riot Games’ League of Legends, one of the most popular esports titles worldwide, is set to be a major part of the Esports World Cup 2024. 

Taking place July 4th – 7th, the invite-only event will see eight top teams from Korea, China, EMEA and North America compete for $1m (~£796,000).

MLBB is another title where the Esports World Cup ties directly into its official esports ecosystem. The game will be hosting two tournaments, the rebranded Mid-Season Cup (MSC) and the MLBB Women’s Invitational (MWI), in Saudi Arabia. This is the first time these two tournaments will take place outside Southeast Asia (SEA). 

MSC 2024 will take place from June 28th to July 14th as 23 teams fight for a share of its $3m (~£2.4m) prize pool. MWI — an all-female esports tournament — will descend into Riyadh from July 24th – 27th with $500,000 (~£398,000) on the line. 

With the shutdown of the Overwatch League in 2023, Overwatch is undergoing a crucial period of transition into a more open ecosystem. The Overwatch Champions Series, operated by Saudi-owned ESL FACEIT Group in partnership with Blizzard, will serve as a qualifier for the Esports World Cup 2024. 

It has been revealed that 16 Overwatch 2 teams are set to participate in the $1m (~£796,000) event, which will commence July 24th until July 28th. Qualified teams include the likes of Team Falcons, Crazy Raccoon, From The Gamer and YETI.

28 teams from regional leagues around the world will qualify for the $3m (~£2.4m) tournament from July 19th – 28th. The teams qualified for the event through ongoing regional events. As such some of the teams competing include Talon Esports, BOOM Esports and DRX.

Over to PUBG’s PC counterpart, in an announcement of the game’s 2024 esports roadmap, KRAFTON mentioned a mid-season global event in Riyadh this August – indicating that the publisher will be involved in the Esports World Cup.

The $2m (~£1.54m) 24-team event doesn’t directly tie into the PGC competitive calendar, however, Global Power Rankings have been utilised to invite the top eight teams. The remaining participants will be decided through regional qualifiers.

Rainbow Six Siege is another separate tournament at the Esports World Cup 2024, as the event makes no mention in the game’s esports roadmap.

The format sees 16 teams compete for its $2m (~£1.54m) prize pool. The event is set to take place from July 31st until August 4th. Teams for the event were decided through open and closed qualifiers with the likes of FaZe Clan, Wolves Esports and FURIA taking part.

Rennsport is the only racing simulator game at the multi-title event. In 2023, the game partnered with ESL to launch ESL R1, a racing sim esports league which ran across two seasons: Spring and Fall. 

Now, EFG has confirmed the return of the ESL R1 2024 Spring Season, where drivers will compete across six online rounds for 12 spots in the final at the Esports World Cup. The event will have a $500,000 (~£386,000) prize pool and is set to commence August 22nd – 25th.

The ESL R1 2024 Spring Season sees the return of the teams in the previous edition along with some new names. These include FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, Mercedes-AMG E-Sports Team ART, and Team Falcons. 

Also taking place August 22nd – 25th, Rocket League is another third-party tournament outside of the game’s ecosystem at the Esports World Cup.

The invite-only event has yet to reveal any of its participants, however, the tournament will have a $500,000 (~£386,000) prize pool.

The Esports World Cup has perhaps had the most effect on the Starcraft II esports roadmap. Earlier this year, ESL announced that the tournament in Riyadh would become the 2024 SC2 Pro Tour Championship. This means that it will act as the culminating event for the entire year. Players will fight across many competitions to earn a spot at the Esports World Cup, where the world champion will be crowned. 

It will have a prize pool of $1m (~£796,000) and will feature 18 players competing across five days (August 14th – 18th). These will also include the top players from other major events like the IEM Katowice and the ESL SC2 Masters Spring Finals. 

The first of two fighting games in the Esports World Cup is Street Fighter 6. The game’s inclusion in the tournament is separate from the official Capcom Pro Tour 2024. 

The top six players from the EVO Japan SF6, including Menard, Lexx and Moke, have qualified for the event. The event will take place from August 8th until August 11th with 24 players competing for $1m (~£796,000).

Teamfight Tactics is also set to be a part of the Esports World Cup 2024. The event will see 16 teams compete for the event’s $500,000 (~£386,000) prize pool from August 8th until August 11th.

Just like League of Legends, Riot Games has clarified that it won’t be involved in the event’s production, but that it will allow players to participate in the event – making it a third-party tournament. 

The last game on this list is fighting game Tekken 8. While the Esports World Cup isn’t officially listed in the Tekken World Tour, players will qualify for the event through different tournaments in the World Tour. So far, it has been announced that the top six players from EVO Japan will qualify for the event. 

Furthermore, Dreamhack Dallas is set to host an official Esports World Cup Qualifier for Tekken 8, where the winner will also qualify for the event.

In total, 32 players will compete in the event. Scheduled to commence from August 22nd, the tournament will have a $1m (~£796,000) prize pool.