According to a media report, League of Legends will also be played as part of the new Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia – as part of the regular pro ecosystem. This has not happened since 2017
It’s been almost seven years since Riot Games relied on a third-party provider to host an official LoL eSports tournament. The Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) 2017 was the last event before the developer closed its doors to external partners. It is set to take place again in the summer of 2024 – and Saudi Arabia has reportedly been awarded the contract. League of Legends is to be played at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. As part of the regular Pro ecosystem.
This is reported by renowned gaming journalist Jacob Wolf on his own platform. An internal email from Riot has landed on his desk containing plans of this kind. LoL is even set to be the first title to be confirmed for the Esports World Cup. Wolf claims that two teams per regional league – including the European LEC and the North American LCS – will take part. Riot will allegedly not choose these itself.
As part of this, Chris Greeley, head of global eSports strategy for LoL, is said to have asked the leagues to keep the first week of July free in their calendars. The scheduling of the Esports World Cup seems to be taking shape. In a statement to Wolf, a Riot representative is also said to have admitted that the publisher is indeed currently in talks with tournament organizers to evaluate the possibility of licensing the event to a third-party provider.
Riot’s next attempt with Saudi Arabia
The Esports World Cup is Saudi Arabia’s latest foray into the gaming and eSports world. It will be the successor to Gamers8, which already hosted the FIFAe Finals in 2023, among others. A record prize pool of 45 million US dollars was won at Gamers8 last summer – the Esports World Cup is set to top that in 2024. In keeping with the major project, Riyadh is even building its own eSports city: Qiddiya.
This is not Riot’s first attempt to tie up with the desert state: In July 2020, the developer announced an LEC partnership with NEOM, a settlement project funded by the Saudi Arabian government. However, public criticism of this collaboration was so great that Riot backtracked after just a few days and discontinued the cooperation. The LoL community is known for its diversity and support of the LGBTQIA+ scene. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, is repeatedly and harshly criticized internationally for its treatment of this community.
