The inaugural edition of the Esports World Cup concluded on August 25, following a month-long run that generated over 100 million hours watched. Fans were treated to an array of thrilling matches across 22 events in 21 different titles. With the home team, Team Falcons, claiming the Club Championship title.
With the conclusion of the Esports World Cup 2024, we can now evaluate its total watch time and compare it to other major series. Notably, this cross-event spectacle in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, became the fourth series this year to surpass 120 million hours watched. The event also boasted an overall prize pool of around $60 million, significantly outpacing other competitions.
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It’s important to note that statistics from Chinese live-streaming platforms are excluded due to differences in how viewership data is reported. Making them incompatible with most other data sources.
The Valorant Champions Tour remains the top esports series by cumulative watch time in 2024, with over 267 million hours watched. Largely driven by the popularity of VCT 2024: Masters Madrid. The LCK, Korea’s premier League of Legends championship, ranks second, followed closely by the MLBB Professional League. These series are expected to add to their totals in the coming months.
Within the Esports World Cup 2024, some of the most watched competitions featured prominent games, with one mobile esports event leading the pack. Accumulating over 20 million hours watched alongside a legendary MOBA.
Overall, the top four tournaments, including those for League of Legends and Counter-Strike 2, accounted for more than 64% of the 120 million-plus hours watched during the EWC 2024. While this is a substantial portion, it’s worth noting that 16 other titles were also part of the event.
Although the EWC’s viewership didn’t match the top three series in our rankings, the compact and fast-paced nature of each tournament likely limited its total watch time. As the event grows, organizers are expected to introduce more titles and experiment with formats to enhance the viewing experience.
In terms of prize pools, the EWC 2024 set a new benchmark. Offering the highest cumulative payout in esports history at $60 million, surpassing Dota 2’s The International. This also marks the largest single-year prize pool, with the next highest being $5.45 million from the FNCS. Only three other series—Valorant Champions Tour, Call of Duty League, Rocket League Championship Series, and Six Invitational—have prize pools exceeding $3 million this year.
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The EWC 2024’s prize pool allocated about a third of its $60 million for the Club Championship, with the top 16 clubs sharing $20 million based on their performance. To qualify, a club needed at least two top-eight finishes across competitions, and to win the championship, a first-place finish in at least one tournament was required. Team Falcons emerged victorious, taking home $7 million.
Comparing prize pools and watch time, the EWC 2024 generated 2.01 hours watched for every dollar in the prize pool, with the Six Invitational following at 4.3 hours watched per dollar. The VCT 2024, however, led with over 70 hours watched per dollar, highlighting its strong position in the competitive gaming community.
Saudi Arabia’s annual gaming festival, previously known as Gamers8, has built a reputation for high-quality action and generous rewards. With its rebranding as the Esports World Cup, this year’s event reached new heights, and with such a positive response, the organizers are likely to return with an even more impressive offering next year.