ESL FACEIT Group and Esports World Cup secure multi-year deal

Esports company and tournament organiser ESL FACEIT Group has announced a multi-year deal with the Esports World Cup, a multi-title esports event organised by the Esports World Cup Foundation.

The new partnership will see ESL FACEIT Group become the official operating partner of the Esports World Cup.

As the operating partner of the Esports World Cup, ESL FACEIT Group will be responsible for tournament operations and broadcast programming. According to a release, the company has already been collaborating with the event this year by providing expertise to create ‘a platform that brings together the world’s best games, players and clubs.’

Alongside assisting with the operations for the inaugural Esports World Cup taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ESL FACEIT Group hosted global qualifiers ahead of the event to determine teams competing in some of the titles. In addition, the company continues to integrate games being played at the event into ESL and DreamHack competitions as well as the FACEIT tournament platform.

Taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Esports World Cup is a large-scale esports event that features 22 competitions and a combined prize pool of $60m (~£47.2m). The tournament is currently ongoing and is set to conclude on August 25th.

However, the event’s creation has caused criticism from the esports community due to Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. This is due to the event’s organiser, the Esports World Cup Foundation, being backed by the Saudi Arabian government. Moreover, ESL FACEIT Group’s parent company is Savvy Games Group, which was launched in 2021 by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

For ESL FACEIT Group, the partnership with the Esports World Cup is a continuation of the company’s expansion in the Middle East. In June, it opened a broadcast hub in Riyadh and in April, it secured a five-year deal with Saudi Arabian entertainment megaproject Qiddiya City.

Craig Levine, Co-CEO of ESL FACEIT Group, spoke on the deal: “The Esports World Cup is one of the most ambitious new global esports events to ever take place.

“It’s a historic step forward for esports’ global growth, and the results so far are a testament to the collaboration of both teams, our deep-rooted relationships with industry stakeholders, and our unrivalled understanding of how gamers celebrate esports.”