ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) revealed on Friday that the 2024 ESL Pro Tour Championship is scheduled to occur at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this summer. StarCraft II is just one of the many games featured in this multi-title, multi-week-long esports and gaming festival organized by the Esports World Cup Foundation. Several other games are yet to be announced.
Two players have already secured their spot at the #EsportsWorldCup #SC2! @Serral_SC2 and @Clem_sc2, the winners of SC2 Masters Summer & Winter, have been invited to fight for glory in Riyadh! #EWC
Are you Team Serral or Team Clem? Or maybe you’re sided with someone else? ???? pic.twitter.com/COg0ucLiA3
— Esports World Cup (@ESWCgg) February 2, 2024
Eighteen (18) of the world’s top StarCraft II players will engage in a five-day tournament, competing for a prize pool yet to be disclosed. Joona “Serral” Sotala and Clément “Clem” Desplanches have been selected as the initial players to participate in the main event in Riyadh, securing their spots through victories at the ESL SC2 Masters Summer and Winter. The upcoming events, IEM Katowice and ESL Masters Spring at DreamHack Dallas 2024, or qualification through regional EPT standings, will serve as direct qualifiers for the finals in Riyadh.
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Riyadh Esports World Cup (Photo source esportsworldcup)
The revelation is not unexpected, considering that ESL FACEIT Group operates under Savvy Games Group, a subsidiary owned by the Saudi Government and supported by the nation’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The Esports World Cup Foundation, also backed by PIF, aims to bring major championship-calibre events to the country to generate revenue for the kingdom.
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This summer, 18 of the world’s greatest #SC2 players will clash at the #EsportsWorldCup
Two of them have already been determined. The rest will join them soon enough.
Which one of them is going to take home the #EWC trophy and become the world champion? pic.twitter.com/tsgpVBXZvw
— Esports World Cup (@ESWCgg) February 2, 2024
In light of today’s announcement, Team Vitality’s recent partnership has a clearer significance. Earlier this week, the French esports organization revealed its collaboration with the South Korean StarCraft II team, ONSYDE. The roster, featuring players Kang “Solar” Min-soo, Cho “Maru” Seong-ju, Kim “Ryung” Dong-won, and coach Choi “CranK” Jae-won, is set to compete at the Intel Extreme Masters Katowice on Feb. 8. The new partnership also implies that the Esports World Cup Program will provide Team Vitality with compensation for fielding a new roster to participate in the event in Riyadh (more details on the Esports World Cup Program will follow soon).
