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Esports World Cup to feature record $70m prize pool in return to Riyadh

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Updated 16 April 2025
Sulafa Alkhunaizi
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Esports World Cup to feature record $70m prize pool in return to Riyadh

  • The pot is the largest in esports history, solidifying the EWC’s reputation as the ultimate global stage for competitive gaming and a key driver of long-term industry sustainability
Updated 16 April 2025
Sulafa Alkhunaizi

RIYADH: The Esports World Cup Foundation announced on Thursday a record-breaking prize pool of more than $70 million for the 2025 edition of the Esports World Cup, which returns to Riyadh from July 7 to Aug. 24.
The pot is the largest in esports history, solidifying the EWC’s reputation as the ultimate global stage for competitive gaming and a key driver of long-term industry sustainability.
The massive increase in prize money, which is up $10 million from last year’s inaugural event, is driven by the foundation’s ambition to provide life-changing opportunities for players and clubs, while fostering stable and scalable careers across the esports ecosystem, organizers said.
“The record-breaking $70+ million prize pool, along with our commitment to the Club Partner Program and our multi-year publisher agreements, is a privilege to announce and validation of our purpose to elevate the industry, by giving players, clubs, publishers and all other stakeholders the stability needed to invest for future success,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation.
“While more than $70 million is an incredible, life-changing sum, it’s always aligned with a long-term vision rather than short-term impact. It’s not just to have more money at stake, but to create opportunities for everyone at every level of the ecosystem, and strengthen the industry for generations to come.”
This year’s event will feature 25 tournaments across 24 titles, including new additions such as chess, Crossfire, FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves and VALORANT.
More than 2,000 elite players and 200 top esports clubs are expected to take part in what is set to be the largest multi-title competition ever held. Tickets are now on sale at the tournament’s website.
A cornerstone of the prize distribution is the EWC Club Championship, which will allocate $27 million of the total prize pool to the top 16 performing clubs across all games. The winning club will take home $7 million.
The remainder of the fund will be split between individual Game Championships — collectively worth more than $38 million — alongside a $450,000 MVP Award pool and more than $5 million dedicated to qualifiers on the “Road to EWC.”
Last year’s event drew more than 500 million online viewers and 2.6 million in-person attendees to Riyadh’s Boulevard City, according to organizers.
Team Falcons emerged victorious in 2024’s inaugural Club Championship, amassing 5,665 points with 10 top-three finishes, including three first-place victories.
“Winning the Club Championship crown and $7 million at the inaugural Esports World Cup was a defining moment for Team Falcons,” said Mosaad Al-Dossary, CEO of the team.
“The opportunity to compete in front of our home fans, where they made the arenas shake with every great play, motivated us like never before, and it was an honor to secure the victory for them. We’ve used the momentum and winnings from last year to build on our success and we look forward to continuing that legacy this summer.”
Team Liquid, who finished second in 2024, also sees EWC 2025 as a major milestone in the industry.
“Competing at the inaugural EWC contributed to one of the most successful competitive years in our 24-year history, securing a strong second-place finish in the EWC 2024 Club Championship,” said Steve Arhancet, co-CEO of the team.
“With our winnings, we expanded into new games like chess, strengthened our international presence in Southeast Asia and supported philanthropic initiatives. The experience, momentum and rosters we’ve built over the past year put us in the perfect position to claim the championship crown at EWC 2025. We believe this to be our year.”
The Esports World Cup will also see the return of the New Global Sport Conference on Aug. 23–24, taking place during the event’s closing weekend in Riyadh, bringing together industry leaders and visionaries to shape the future of esports and competitive entertainment.

Faisal bin Homran told Arab News that the previous year’s tournament was successful, bringing in more tournaments and gamers for 2025. 

“I think this year is gonna be better than every aspect from experience players experience, prize, money and publisher as well. Excited everyone’s happy.”

Homran highlighted that most players who thrive in the game are “audacious gamers”. 

“We are challenging the players, we are challenging the clubs, EWC no mercy when it comes to qualification. Everything is earned and nothing is granted. If you are good come and compete and win EWC.”

 

Topics: eSports

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The Pope with ‘two left feet’ who loved the ‘beautiful game’

Updated 8 sec ago
AFP
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The Pope with ‘two left feet’ who loved the ‘beautiful game’

  • Messi: A different Pope, close, Argentinian... Rest in peace, Pope Francis
  • His love of football was inseparable from his loyalty to the San Lorenzo club in Buenos Aires, where he went to watch matches with his father and brothers
Updated 8 sec ago
AFP

VATICAN CITY: His predecessor loved Mozart, but Pope Francis’s passion was football — for him “the most beautiful game” and also a vehicle to educate and spread peace.

From Argentine compatriots Lionel Messi and the late Diego Maradona to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gianluigi Buffon, Francis received the greatest stars of football at the Vatican, signing dozens of shirts and balls from around the world.

And the admiration flowed both ways. Following news of the Pope’s death on Monday at the age of 88, Messi took to Instagram to pay tribute.

“A different Pope, close, Argentinian... Rest in peace, Pope Francis,” the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner posted. “Thank you for making the world a better place. We will miss you.”

Francis often recounted playing as a young boy on the streets of Buenos Aires, using a ball made of rags.

While admitting he was “not among the best” and that “he had two left feet,” he often played as goalkeeper, which he said was a good way of learning how to respond to “dangers that could arrive from anywhere.”

His love of football was inseparable from his loyalty to the San Lorenzo club in Buenos Aires, where he went to watch matches with his father and brothers.

“It was romantic football,” he recalled.

He maintained his membership even after becoming pope — and caused a minor uproar when he received a membership card from rivals Boca Juniors as part of a Vatican educational partnership.

Francis kept up to date with the club’s progress thanks to one of the Vatican’s Swiss Guards, who would leave results and league tables on his desk.

On Monday, San Lorenzo’s home page showed a large photo of a smiling pope under the club’s blue-and-red striped emblem, and the words: “Goodbye forever, Holy Father!”

Football is often compared to a religion for its fans, and Francis held numerous giant masses in football stadiums during trips abroad.

French Bishop Emmanuel Gobilliard, the Vatican delegate for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, said he understood the crucial role played by football.

“Whether you are an amateur or professional footballer, whether you like to watch it on television, it makes no difference: this sport is part of people’s lives,” he said.

But it was not just an end in itself — Francis, a Jesuit, also saw football as a way of spreading peace and education, despite the money and corruption linked to the sport.

In 2014, the Olympic stadium in Rome hosted an “inter-religious match” for peace at his initiative.

“Many say that football is the most beautiful game in the world. I think so too,” Francis declared in 2019.

As early as 2013, addressing the Italian and Argentine teams, Francis reminded players of their “social responsibilities” and warned against the excesses of “business” football.

The pontiff’s love for the game inspired a scene in a film “The Two Popes,” in which former pope Benedict XVI and then-cardinal Jorge Bergoglio watch the 2014 World Cup final between their two countries, Germany and Argentina.

It was pure fiction, as the soon-to-be Francis gave up watching television in 1990 — the year West Germany beat Argentina in the World Cup final hosted by Italy — while his predecessor preferred classical music and reading.

His enthusiasm for football said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin on Monday bore “witness to a joyful spirit and his ability to connect with people through warmth and a sense of shared humanity.”

Francis never mentioned the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, which took place in the midst of a dictatorship when he was a provincial leader of the Jesuits.

But he dedicated an entire chapter of his 2024 autobiography to Maradona, whose infamous “hand of God” goal helped Argentina beat England in their 1986 World Cup quarterfinal clash.

“When, as pope, I received Maradona in the Vatican a few years ago... I asked him, jokingly, ‘So, which is the guilty hand?’” he said in 2024.

And asked once who was the game’s greatest player, Maradona or Lionel Messi, the pope hedged his bets.

“Maradona, as a player, was great. But as a man, he failed,” Francis said, referring to his addictions to cocaine and alcohol.

He described Messi as a “gentleman,” but added that he would choose a third, Pele, “a man of heart.”

Topics: football Pope Francis

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Duplantis and Biles win Laureus World Sports Awards

Updated 36 min 4 sec ago
AFP
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Duplantis and Biles win Laureus World Sports Awards

  • Duplantis, 25, took the award ahead of tennis great Novak Djokovic, Formula One world champion Max Verstappen and French swimmer Leon Marchand
  • Biles won the award for the fourth time, equalling the record held by Serena Williams, after winning three gold medals and a silver last summer at the Paris Olympics
Updated 36 min 4 sec ago
AFP

MADRID: Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis and American gymnast Simone Biles shared the top honors on Monday at the annual Laureus World Sport Awards ceremony in Madrid.

Double Olympic champion and world record holder Duplantis was voted Sportsman of the Year at the ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the awards, while Biles was named Sportswoman of the Year.

Duplantis, 25, took the award ahead of tennis great Novak Djokovic, Formula One world champion Max Verstappen and French swimmer Leon Marchand.

He follows Usain Bolt as the second representative from track and field to win the award.

Biles won the award for the fourth time, equalling the record held by Serena Williams, after winning three gold medals and a silver last summer at the Paris Olympics.

“I won this award for the first time in 2017 and Laureus has been a part of my story since then,” said Biles.

“There might be a little girl watching someone like me on television and deciding she can do it, too.”

Another gymnast Rebeca Andrade won the Comeback of the Year award after winning gold in the floor at Paris while Barcelona’s Spanish prodigy Lamine Yamal, who had an exceptional first full season for club and country, winning Euro 2024 with Spain at just 17, won the Breakthrough of the Year award.

Real Madrid, who won their 15th Champions League and La Liga, took the team award.

Rafael Nadal, who retired from tennis last November at the age of 38, was given a Sports Icon award and surfer Kelly Slater a Lifetime Achievement award.

Topics: Armand Duplantis Simone Biles Laureus World Sports Awards

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Al-Ittihad move closer to Saudi Pro League glory as Al-Hilal stumble again

Updated 22 April 2025
John Duerden
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Al-Ittihad move closer to Saudi Pro League glory as Al-Hilal stumble again

  • After their lead at the top of the table was cut to just 4 points last week, Al-Ittihad bounce back with a 3-2 win over Ettifaq
  • Al-Hilal draw 2-2 with Al-Shabab, leaving them 6 points adrift in second place with only 5 games left to play
Updated 22 April 2025
John Duerden

Al-Ittihad took a big step toward the Saudi Pro League title on Monday, beating Ettifaq 3-2 to move six points clear at the top of the table ahead of Al-Hilal, who earlier drew 2-2 with Al-Shabab.

With just five games remaining, the Jeddah side are very much back in the driving seat after a 2-0 loss to Al-Fateh on Thursday, though they had to come from behind after Vitinho put the visitors ahead in the fifth minute, firing home from outside the area.

The home fans did not have long to wait before their team were back on level terms, however. Just six minutes later, Karim Benzema got on the end of a corner at the far post and sent a low ball across the face of goal for Danilo Pereira to convert.

Benzema himself put the leaders ahead after 35 minutes, as the French forward pounced on a sloppy backpass and slotted the ball past Marek Rodak.

In time added on at the end of the first half the advantage increased to 3-1, as Moussa Diaby delivered his 14th assist of the season when he fed the ball to Houssem Aouar in the area, who rolled his shot into the net.

There were signs of nerves seven minutes from time when the visitors pulled one back, Pereira heading a cross into his own net. However, Al-Ittihad managed to hold on and see out the game.

Earlier, Al-Hilal, who had moved within four points of the leaders last week, dropped points for the third time in four league games when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Al-Shabab.

In an exciting Riyadh derby, the home fans were stunned in the seventh minute when the visitors took the lead in spectacular fashion through Daniel Podence. The former Wolverhampton Wanderers man advanced toward the area, cut inside and then, still outside the box, unleashed a perfect shot into the top corner of the net.

Al-Hilal equalized just after the half-hour mark with a well-worked goal. Renan Lodi found Salem Al-Dawsari on the left side of the area, who slipped through a smart pass for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to fire high into the net.

The 19-time champions took the lead just a minute after the restart when Malcom fed a pass through to Al-Dawsari on the left side of the area, and the Saudi international found his spot with a first-time low shot.

Midway through the second half, however, Al-Shabab were level again. Mohammed Al-Shwirekh climbed high on the edge of the six-yard box to head home a Cristian Guanca corner.

With 18 minutes to go, things almost got even worse for Al-Hilal, but their fans were able to breathe a sigh of relief when Yannick Carrasco’s goal, side-footed into the net from inside the box, was ruled out for offside.

And that was how things remained at the final whistle, as Al-Hilal’s title aspirations took what might prove to be a significant knock from another stumble, with the time available to make amends rapidly running out.

Topics: Saudi Pro League Al-Ittihad Al-Hilal

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Gill, Sudharsan help toppers Gujarat boss Kolkata in IPL

Updated 21 April 2025
AFP
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Gill, Sudharsan help toppers Gujarat boss Kolkata in IPL

  • Gujarat posted 198-3 after Sai Sudharsan, who hit 52, and Gill put on 114 runs for the first wicket
  • Bowlers combined to restrict Kolkata to 159-8 with skipper Ajinkya Rahane playing a lone hand with 50
Updated 21 April 2025
AFP

KOLKATA: Shubman Gill led from the front with his 55-ball 90 to help Gujarat Titans hammer holders Kolkata Knight Riders by 39 runs on Monday and consolidate their top spot in the IPL.
Gujarat posted 198-3 after Sai Sudharsan, who hit 52, and Gill put on 114 runs for the first wicket to lay the foundations of the total at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
The bowlers then combined to restrict Kolkata to 159-8 with skipper Ajinkya Rahane playing a lone hand with 50 to register Gujarat’s sixth win in eight matches.
Kolkata, who won their third title of the popular T20 tournament last year, slipped to their fifth defeat in eight matches.
The batters set up victory for Gujarat with England’s Jos Buttler hitting an unbeaten 41 off 23 balls as he steered the team after the opening stand between the Sudharsan and Gill.
“We never talk about that one of us has to stay until the end,” player-of-the-match Gill said on being asked about one of their top three staying through to the end in most of the matches.
“We just talk about how we can score runs in these conditions and how to take the game deep.”
Gill was watchful at the start but the left-handed Sudharsan hit a few boundaries to get Gujarat going after being invited to bat first.
Gill took on Moeen Ali with a six and two fours in the second spell for the former England spinner and soon reached his third half-century of the season.
The in-form Sudharsan raised his fifth 50-plus score in this edition as he went past 400 runs to nudge out Lucknow Super Giants batsman Nicholas Pooran (368) as the leading batsman.
Buttler is third with 356 runs in his eight innings.
Andre Russell handed Kolkata its first breakthrough as the pace bowler dismissed Sudharsan after his 36-ball knock but he came under attack from Buttler who hit him for three successive boundaries.
Buttler and Gill kept up the attack before fast bowler Vaibhav Arora denied the Gujarat captain his hundred.
Buttler lost another partner in Rahul Tewatia but Gujarat finished with a flourish in a 18-run 20th over from Arora.
In reply, Kolkata lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over of the chase when Mohammed Siraj got the Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman trapped lbw for one.
Sunil Narine, a left-hand opener, and Rahane hit back with regular boundaries in a brisk partnership of 41 until Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan broke the stand.
Rashid had Narine caught out for 17 before Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer put on another stand to keep Kolkata in the hunt.
Sai Kishore removed Iyer on 14 and fellow spinner Washington Sundar sent back Rahane stumped out after his fifty to derail the chase.
“When you are chasing 199, you expect a good opening start with the batters, that’s where we are struggling throughout this tournament,” said Rahane.
“I thought 199 chaseable on this wicket, we bowled really well, we faltered with our batting.”
Russell added some spark with a 15-ball 21 as he hit three fours and one six but Rashid picked up his second wicket to remove him thanks to a Buttler stumping.
Season’s leading bowler Prasidh Krishna then took two wickets in one over to take his count to 16.

Topics: Indian Premier League (IPL) Gujarat Titans KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS shubman gill

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The ESL Saudi Challenge returns in 2025 with two editions

Updated 21 April 2025
Arab News
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The ESL Saudi Challenge returns in 2025 with two editions

  • Events will highlight Saudi Arabia’s role in the e-sports world and its alignment with Vision 2030
  • ESL Saudi Challenge is a platform for emerging local talent to shine on the world stage, linking Saudi players with international opportunities and audiences
Updated 21 April 2025
Arab News

RIYADH: ESL FACEIT Group, the world’s leading e-sports company, has announced the return of the ESL Saudi Challenge for 2025, with two editions confirmed for May and December.

The expansion is part of EFG’s long-term commitment to Saudi Arabia’s gaming ecosystem and supports the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and its National Gaming and Esports Strategy.

Kicking off the 2025 season, the first round of open qualifiers will take place on April 24-26, followed by a second round scheduled for May 1-3. The competition will then advance to the playoffs on May 7-8 and 14-15, culminating in a live grand final at VOV Gaming on May 30.

The ESL Saudi Challenge is a platform for emerging local talent to shine on the world stage, linking Saudi players with international opportunities and audiences.

“What’s happening in the Kingdom today sets the tone for the future of global e-sports.” said Franck Guignery, senior vice president for the MENA region at EFG. “We’re witnessing a generation of players with world-class potential. The ESL Saudi Challenge is more than a tournament, it’s a launchpad — a gateway that connects Saudi talent to the global esports arena. For the industry, this isn’t just an opportunity — it’s a turning point.”

Each 2025 edition of the tournament will spotlight Overwatch 2 as its flagship title, with a $20,000 prize pool and offering winners a direct path to global competitions. This year’s grand finals will culminate in a live showdown, bringing the region’s top talent to the big stage.

Topics: ESL FACEIT Group ESL Saudi Challenge

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