The News
Saudi Arabia’s Esports World Cup, taking place in July, is offering a $70 million prize pot, a record-breaking sum in the world of competitive gaming.
Some 2,000 individual gamers and 200 teams will compete for a slice of the prize pool over the six-week tournament in Riyadh in popular games like Call of Duty and Fortnite, with the winning club taking home $7 million.
Large payouts are the norm across the kingdom’s sports interests, which are a priority in its broader economic-diversification drive.
The Professional Fighters League, a Public Investment Fund-backed mixed martial arts company, will in some cases give fighters more cash per fight than competitor Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Similarly, Dustin Johnson, the best-paid player in the PIF-backed LIV Golf league, took home nearly six times more cash per tournament than when he competed in the PGA Tour.