Riot Games Signs Three-Year Deal with the Esports World Cup Foundation

Key insights

6 takeaways

01
Riot Games has signed a three-year partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation to feature League of Legends, Valorant, and Teamfight Tactics in the annual summer competition held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
02
The agreement includes a global commercial partnership between the Esports World Cup Foundation and Riot’s competitive circuits, encompassing in-broadcast activations across LoL Esports, the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), and the TFT 2025 circuit.
03
Financial terms of the three-year deal were not disclosed by either party.
04
The Esports World Cup is an eight-week, multi-title event operated by the ESL FACEIT Group, a subsidiary of the Saudi government-owned Savvy Games Group.
05
Valorant’s inclusion in the event is positioned as the largest major tournament for the title outside of the official VCT structure.
06
This partnership formalizes and expands upon Riot’s previous involvement, which saw League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics participate in the 2024 competition.

Summary

Riot Games has entered into a three-year partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation to integrate three of its flagship titles—League of Legends, Valorant, and Teamfight Tactics—into the annual Esports World Cup held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While financial terms remain undisclosed, the agreement establishes these titles as official club competitions for the eight-week event. Beyond tournament inclusion, the deal encompasses a global commercial partnership that facilitates in-broadcast activations across the League of Legends Esports, Valorant Champions Tour, and Teamfight Tactics 2025 competitive circuits.

The collaboration marks a significant expansion of Riot Games’ involvement with the Saudi-backed tournament, which is operated by the ESL FACEIT Group. By formalizing this multi-year commitment, the Esports World Cup aims to solidify its position as a premier global entertainment platform, leveraging Riot’s established esports ecosystems to drive fan engagement. For Riot Games, the partnership provides a high-profile stage for its titles, with the Valorant component specifically positioned as the largest major tournament outside of the standard Valorant Champions Tour structure.

The Esports World Cup is funded by a grant from the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund, a structure that has drawn scrutiny from international human rights organizations. Critics frequently characterize such investments as sports washing, arguing that the state utilizes high-profile international gaming and sporting events to improve its global image and distract from documented concerns regarding human rights, women’s rights, and other geopolitical issues. Despite these controversies, the partnership proceeds as a strategic alignment between a major game publisher and a state-backed entity seeking to expand its influence in the global esports industry.