RIYADH: The Esports World Cup Foundation and the Esports Awards have announced a three-year partnership that brings the world’s most prestigious esports awards ceremony and platform to the Esports World Cup, the world’s largest gaming festival, scheduled to take place this summer in Riyadh.

The 2024 Esports Awards will be held on Aug. 24 in Riyadh with a gala to honor the best in esports from every corner of the globe, celebrating clubs, athletes, content creators, games and more. The partnership ensures that the Esports Awards will be a platform for experiences such as the lifetime achievement mixer, red carpet event, esports village and the awards ceremony itself. Fans can vote for awards finalists when they are revealed on June 27.

Since its inception in 2015, the Esports Awards has earned a reputation for recognizing excellence in esports globally and supporting initiatives to grow the industry. Over the past decade, it has evolved from a London dinner event into the premier global awarding body and de-facto platform for esports recognition.

The global red carpet event has been held in London, Dallas and Las Vegas and now comes to Saudi Arabia for the first time.

Last year’s star-studded ceremony attracted more than 22 million viewers and some of the biggest brands, athletes and publishers took home 30 awards in categories for entertainment, industry, creative, pro, on-air talent, and collegiate. The event secured a Guinness World Record for largest digital video game display when WWE superstars and gaming legends alike played Pac-Man on a screen with an area of 100,000 square feet.

“Partnering with the Esports World Cup enables us to offer an even more exceptional experience to our nominees, guests and viewers," said Michael Ashford, CEO, Esports Awards. “The Esports Awards have always been dedicated to celebrating incredible achievements in esports, so we naturally saw the opportunity to join forces with EWC in Riyadh as an excellent fit.

“The Middle East is home to one of the fastest growing and most passionate esports communities in the world and I’m delighted to be bringing the awards to the region for the first time. I cannot wait for this year’s ceremony, which I expect will be the most impressive and memorable one yet.”

Ralf Reichert, CEO of Esports World Cup Foundation, said: “Hosting the Esports Awards in Riyadh enriches the Esports World Cup, bringing the entire world together to commemorate esports excellence.

“Here, we can support the Esports Awards as a valuable bridge between Eastern and Western audiences. The Esports Awards is a fantastic gala that celebrates stakeholders from across the global esports ecosystem, recognizing not only competitive greatness but also greatness in production, broadcasting, leadership, creative design and more. I’m excited to attend the Esports Awards this year in Riyadh and honor the best in esports.”

The Esports World Cup starts on July 3 in Riyadh and will turn the city into the epicenter of esports fandom and gaming culture for eight weeks.

Fans can watch the action at Boulevard City across 20 game championships for a share of more than $60 million in prize money — the largest prize pool in esports history. The Esports World Cup will also feature festival activities that include numerous gaming activities, community tournaments, pop culture celebrations, international experiences and more.

RIYADH: The live finals of the EA Sports FC Ramadan Tournament, which began on March 18, took place this Friday at the SEF Arena in Riyadh.

Organized by Zawaya Gaming and powered by Pepsi with support from the Saudi Esports Federation, the gaming show featured two tournaments — one for EA Sports FC 24 on PlayStation 5, the other for EA Sports FC Mobile.

A group of 16 players from across the Middle East and North Africa region and Indonesia qualified to compete during the live show along with other eight players who were paired with athletes and content creators, including Egyptian YouTuber Amr Nassouhy and Saudi YouTuber BanderitaX, for a two-versus-two tournament in both of the competitions.

“It is a huge event,” Nassouhy said. The Youtuber, whose content focuses on sports, including football, boasts 1.4 million followers on Instagram and almost 3 million followers on his “Saba7o Korah” YouTube channel, which he started back in 2012.

“EA has been doing these kinds of events for years. I have been on board with them for eight years maybe, and it is really important for the entire community,” he said.

“Everybody can play online or with friends, but having competitions and having content creators attending these competitions sheds light on these players and the EA FC 2024 and esports in general.

“I am a huge football fan, so EA sports has always been a favorite of mine since childhood.”

Amr Basher, another Egyptian content creator, was also among the guests in the Saudi capital on Friday. He posts content about FC and FC Mobile across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to millions of followers.

“Last year, I attended the (Esports) World Cup that was hosted in Riyadh. It was similar to this, well-organized. I enjoyed it very much,” Basher said.