RIYADH: As the New Global Sports Conference takes place in Riyadh over the weekend, one man in particular will look back on the summer with immense pride.
Ralf Reichert, the CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, has just overseen a tournament of 22 competitions, across eight weeks, with prize money of $60 million on offer.
The theme of the second edition of the NGSC is “The Future of Fandom” and, appropriately for Reichert, the fan engagement at the Esports World Cup exceeded all expectations.
“I think every sport is as good as its fans are, if you really think about this,” Reichert told Arab News. “So, the fans are almost the result of the success of the sport. So, us bringing an incredible assembly of leaders from gaming, esports and sports together in one place, at a quality that has never happened anywhere in the world before, is a testament to the Esports World Cup and its draw, and its relevance already in the industry. But as well, it is an incredible opportunity to think about how these three industries can continue to foster and grow their collaboration.”
Reichert says it is important to appreciate the “additional” value that the Esports World Cup brings to the market.
“It’s not replacing anything, it’s not competing with anything,” he said. “It’s adding something to make esports and gaming, as a whole, bigger. And conferences are a unique opportunity to really collaborate and work together to try to design the future, to improve the future.”
As the Esports World Cup entered its final weekend, Reichert declared the organizers “incredibly happy” with how the event had gone.
“I think, first and foremost, the players and the clubs, the core of the sport, worked super well,” he said. “We have an amazing winner with Team Falcons — they truly deserve it. We have changed the lives of many of these players for the better, and gave them career opportunities they would have never had.
“The fans turned up for the tournament itself; we had full stadiums most of the time, we had an incredible experience on the festival. We had many, many viewership records broken, and, last but not least, the mainstream media and international coverage has been way beyond everything we ever expected.
“We knew that the Esports World Cup will make a difference for the sport and the public perception of video games and esports. But I think it’s much, much bigger and faster than we ever hoped for.”
The summer-long Esports World Cup saw a major upscale, in terms of length, prize money and number of competitions, over its predecessor, Gamers8.
“We designed it in a way that it can survive the eight weeks and we made sure that we treat every week like it’s the last week,” said Reichert. “We really tried to add clear stories, clear highlights from the sport and beyond the sport. That included many visits of international celebrities, specifically from the football world, which just shows how close these are together, how big the cultural impact of video games is these days, because all of these international sports stars are younger than 30, Millennials, Gen Z almost.”
Among those who visited Boulevard Riyadh City were Al-Hilal and Brazil star Neymar, Liverpool’s Portuguese forward Diogo Jota and former Netherlands midfielder Wesley Sneijder.
“We know for a fact that all of them are gamers,” Reichert said. “It shows how this is a cultural place for relevant athletes to meet from within the sport segment and then beyond it. It gives us great and very authentic content, which it seems like the world enjoyed and wanted to take part in.
“That’s what we tried to give to the people of Riyadh and to the world.”
With 22 tournaments taking place across the summer-long tournament, the Esports World Cup provided opportunities for male and female gamers in greater numbers than ever before.
“If we look at what we tried to create in terms of the environment, the number one priority was that the players come here, have a great time, have the environment to be at their best as an athlete, while at the same time, learn about the country and enjoy the hospitality,” said Reichert.
“They’re celebrities in their own regards. I have still to find any negative feedback from any of these athletes. It’s the opposite. I think, number one, we are clearly seen to be the tournament that takes best care of the players. And to a degree where we almost spoil them — and that’s a good thing, that’s our intent.
“Number two, a lot of them said that this was one of the best, if not the best tournament they ever attended in terms of coverage, and how it’s done and access as well, including the mainstream media coverage,” he added.
“And three, which is super important, we have the highest prize money that has ever been in esports, with $60 million. So, we could really change the lives of many of these players. There are players who have won more this summer than they have in their entire career before. We have many people who will go home and have a better life for their family. And that is a very, very good feeling.”
Fan engagement, at Boulevard Riyadh City and online, has been one of the successes of the event, according to the 49-year-old German national.
“I think that a sport creates moments that, you know, almost no other sort of entertainment can do, because you’re celebrating a moment with other people live in an event,” Reichert said. “This is the ultimate experience for any sport event, and it’s new to the Kingdom at that scale.
“So, to build this culture, to build this as the epicenter of esports, where we’re going to fill stadiums, full stadiums in the future, this is a super important milestone. We got it done with only 1,000 people at once in the venue this year, but that is still significantly bigger than anything else that ever happened in the region. So, we see this as an intermediate step to continue to grow the culture of fandom.”
Reichert said that the NGSC conference will be “super important” for the how sports will be consumed by fans in the future.
“The best games, the best players, part of the best clubs. But then the fans really complete the experience and the product. We built it and they came, and that makes us a full success.”
Reichert reserved special praise for Saudi Arabia’s Team Falcons, who claimed the Esports World Cup Club Championship.
“I think Team Falcons, from day one, they were favorites in the competition and specifically in the first two weeks, where they won two games. They outperformed the competition.
“The Esports World Cup Club Championship is a new format where it’s really about winning as many games as possible. Think about them like disciplines. Falcons basically went all in on this. They took a much higher risk. They doubled down on this competition.”
Reichert said that Team Falcons fielded 18 rosters throughout the 22 tournaments that were on offer, while the second team, Twisted Minds, and the third team, Fnatic, offered 13 and 10, respectively.
“I think it (the Falcons victory) means the world for the region,” he added. “It’s probably the first time that a Saudi sports team wins the competition at that scale. So, it is incredible for the sports.”
Reichert said that he is “incredibly excited” at the list of speakers taking part in the NGSC as well as some of star guests and athletes who will be present.
“Magnus Carlsen is a GOAT of Chess, FalleN is a GOAT of Counter-Strike, which is one of our most important games. We’ll have people from the Olympics speaking about the Olympic Esports Games. We’ll have many people from the sports sector, the CEO of the Saudi Olympic Committee, and many, many of the most important people from the game publisher scene, the people who create these games.”
The announcement of the Esports Olympics, to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2025, holds particular significance for Reichert and the organizers of the Esports World Cup.
“It couldn’t come at a better time,” he said. “It’s the summer of sports, almost. The Esports World Cup is on its way to be successfully culminated, and the Olympics, as the oldest and largest traditional sports competition, announcing that it will have an esports edition, is fantastic for everyone involved. It will be one of the key drivers in bringing even more fandom to the sport.”
