Garena, a game publisher, has announced its participation in the Saudi government-backed Esports World Cup (EWC) with a $1 million (~£788,600) Free Fire competition.
From July 10th to 14th, 18 teams will compete in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the majority of the prize fund and the opportunity to advance to the 2024 Free Fire World Series Global Finals in November.
Teams can qualify for the event through five local Free Fire tournaments and ESL’s Free Fire Snapdragon Pro Series. The event’s three days will include a knockout stage, with 12 teams advancing to the Finals over the next two days.
The winner will receive a ticket to the Free Fire World Series Global Finals, the largest tournament on the competitive calendar, which will be held in Brazil this year. The 2021 edition is known as the second most-watched esports event in history, with 5.4 million peak viewers.
The EWC is an annual multi-title esports festival organised by the newly established Esports World Cup Foundation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, first announced the event in October 2023. Its inaugural edition will take place this summer.
Saudi Arabia’s rising involvement in esports has drawn criticism for the country’s human rights record, particularly in terms of women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and censorship. The EWC, another significant project in Saudi Arabia’s esports strategy, has raised similar worries among the esports community.
Free Fire is a mobile battle royale game released by Garena in 2017. Garena, a global games developer and publisher, runs esports competitions and offers exclusive licences to partners, such as Call of Duty: Mobile, in specific markets globally. The company has previously collaborated with the Brazilian agency 3C Gaming, the retail brand Casas Bahia, and the digital wallet platform Wallet Codes.
Garena has joined a growing number of publishers and esports competitions that will compete in the Esports World Cup: Free Fire. The esports event will include tournaments for StarCraft II and Counter-Strike 2, as well as the Mobile Legends Mid Season Cup and the Dota 2 Riyadh Masters 2024.
Recently, game producer Level Infinite announced the Honour of Kings Invitational Midseason, a $3 million (~£2.37 million) event joining the EWC.
