ESL Faceit Group Signs Multi-Year Partnership with Esports World Cup

The ESL Faceit Group has signed a multi-year deal to organise the Esports World Cup. The deal comes as no surprise and supports Saudi Arabia's position in global esports. This is understandable, given the investment, but it also carries the risk of monopolisation.

Even as the Esports World Cup was taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the organisers were laying the groundwork for the future. The ESL Faceit Group (EFG) has signed a long-term deal to become the official operating partner of the Esports World Cup. The deal comes as no surprise. EFG is already heavily involved in the organisation of this year's inaugural Esports World Cup.

As the official operating partner, EFG is responsible for the delivery of tournament operations and broadcast programming that brings together gaming audiences and mainstream sports and entertainment communities. EFG has also worked in close collaboration with the Esports World Cup to support its product proposition and global marketing strategy.

"Esports World Cup is one of the most ambitious new global sports events to ever take place," said Craig Levine, Co-CEO, EFG. "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 unrivaled understanding of how gamers celebrate esports. As we approach the end of this life-changing tournament, we’re already looking forward to continuing to shape the future of sports fandom and entertainment powered by esports and gaming – not just through the end of August, but for years to come."

The deal is not just about organising the tournaments in Saudi Arabia. EFG has already organised the global qualifiers in North and South America, Europe, South East Asia and the Middle East this year, and in the coming years EFG will integrate more Esports World Cup tournaments into its ESL, DreamHack and FaceIt platform brands, allowing players around the world to play their way to the Esports World Cup.

The revealed plans show that the Esports World Cup is an important investment for Saudi Arabia to position itself as a key tournament organiser in esports worldwide. The integration into ESL, DreamHack and FaceIt could significantly change and monopolise esports outside of the leagues run by game publishers.

EFG, through its Savvy Gaming Group, is part of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). As the NGO Esports World Cup Federation was also established by Saudi Arabia as the official organiser of the Esports World Cup, the entire World Cup remains in Saudi hands. On the one hand, this is understandable given the amount of money Saudi Arabia is investing in esports. On the other hand, the structure of professional esports is increasingly top-down. There is no grassroots movement. And that could lead to a monopolisation of professional esports, at least outside the leagues run by the game developers/publishers themselves, which often have monopoly-like structures as well.

This also raises questions about the first Olympic Esports Games, which will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2025, possibly alongside the Esports World Cup. Although many organisational issues remain to be resolved, the IOC has already signed a 12-year contract with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia. It seems that Saudi Arabia has staked its claim in esports without leaving much room for others.