Esports World Cup: 120M Hours Watched

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
The Esports World Cup (EWC) recorded 120 million hours watched over its eight-week competition period from July 3 to August 25, 2024.
02
The EWC ranked as the fourth most-watched esports series of 2024, trailing the MLBB Professional League, LCK, and Valorant Champions Tour.
03
League of Legends and Counter-Strike 2 accounted for more than 64% of the total 120 million hours watched.
04
The Esports World Cup Foundation awarded over $60 million in total prize money, with $20 million allocated specifically to the Club Championship.
05
Team Falcons won the club-based championship and received a $7 million prize, followed by Team Liquid with $4 million and Team BDS with $2 million.
06
The 120 million hours figure from Esports Charts excludes data from Chinese streaming platforms, which are considered unreliable for standard concurrent viewer metrics.
07
The Esports World Cup Foundation separately claimed a cumulative viewership of 500 million and 2 million visitors to Riyadh, though this figure likely includes sources not tracked by Esports Charts.

Summary

The Esports World Cup, held from July 3 to August 25, 2024, generated 120 million hours of watch time over its eight-week duration. According to data provided by Esports Charts, this performance positioned the event as the fourth most-watched esports series of 2024, trailing only the MLBB Professional League, the LCK, and the Valorant Champions Tour. The competition, which featured over $60 million in total prize money, was dominated by League of Legends and Counter-Strike 2, which collectively accounted for more than 64% of the total viewership hours.

The methodology utilized by Esports Charts excludes data from Chinese streaming platforms, citing the unreliability and incompatibility of publicly available viewership metrics from that region with standard concurrent viewer calculations. This exclusion is significant, as the inclusion of Chinese platforms would likely alter the distribution of viewership across various game titles. The Esports World Cup Foundation reported a higher cumulative figure of 500 million total viewers, a metric that likely incorporates broader data sources, including Chinese platforms, though a detailed breakdown of that figure was not provided.

The event concluded with a club-based championship, where Team Falcons secured the top position and a $7 million prize. Other notable performers included Team Liquid, Team BDS, Team Vitality, and T1, who collectively earned significant portions of the $20 million allocated specifically for the Club Championship. The tournament, which also saw 2 million visitors in Riyadh, represents a major investment in the global esports landscape, supported by funding from the Saudi Arabian government.