rewrite this title Esports World Cup Unveils Partnership With IMG As Gaming Championship Kicks Off In Riyadh

EXCLUSIVE: The Esports World Cup Foundation is partnering with global sports marketing agency IMG for the second edition of its international championship running in the Saudi capital of Riyadh from July 7 to August 24.

Unfolding in Riyadh’s Boulevard City entertainment district, the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) will welcome 2,000 elite players from 200 clubs hailing from 100 territories.

IMG will provide broadcast production, content strategy, global rights management, and international distribution via SNTV, a joint venture with The Associated Press.

The deal includes the production of two-hour show EWC Spotlight which will broadcast live Friday through Sunday every championship weekend from a custom-built studio in the heart of Boulevard City.

Hosted by UK sports presenters Hugh Woozencroft and Rachel Stringer, it will blend esports highlights, entertainment and pop culture features, behind-the-scenes access, around 60 celebrity appearances, and educational segments.

It kicks off with a special premiere on Thursday, featuring a live performance by U.S. performer and avid gamer Post Malone at the EWC opening ceremony that evening.

“With EWC Spotlight, we’re creating a new gateway into esports, not just for the millions already engaged, but for the billions yet to discover their passion for competitive gaming,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO, Esports World Cup Foundation.

“By blending elite competition, mainstream entertainment, and cultural storytelling, we’re breaking barriers between esports and traditional media. Partnering with IMG, a global leader in sports production and content, allows us to show the world what esports truly represents: an evolution in global entertainment, sports, and culture.”

EWC Spotlight will be broadcast across a selection of English-language broadcast and OTT partners, with a potential audience of over 250 million people, including Fox (U.S.), DAZN (U.S., Germany), beIN (MENA), Channel 7 (Australia), TRT (Turkey), Astro (Malaysia), TAP (Philippines), GOAT (Brazil), Nsports (Brazil), Super Sport (Africa), Star Times (Africa), Abema (Japan), WHATS TV (Spain), HoyTv (Hong Kong) among others.

In total, IMG will create and produce more than 50 hours of programming, covering live esports action, as well as digital and social content, and an original documentary showcasing the biggest teams in the competition.

It has also worked with EWC to develop an international distribution strategy for the tournament’s programming and will leverage its network of global media experts to manage the content worldwide. In addition, EWC has appointed SNTV to distribute daily content of the tournament to global broadcasters and media partners via its sports video production and distribution agency, Story10.

“The Esports World Cup is as big as it gets for gaming fans and we’re excited to help bring the tournament to fans across the globe through unmissable and headline-grabbing programming,” Barney Francis, EVP, Studios, IMG.

“Combining IMG’s premium production capabilities and creativity with our team of global media experts and strategists, this partnership enables us to provide an elevated viewer experience for fans worldwide, as they watch their favourite teams and personalities battle it out on a world stage.”

Esports are a key pole of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 vision strategy moving the country’s economy away from a reliance on oil revenue, with a recent PwC report forecasting the local gaming sector will be worth $13.3M by the end of this decade.

The 2025 EWC prize pool of more than $70 million is the largest in the history of esports.

This year’s 2,000 EWC participants will compete in 25 tournaments across 24 games, including Call of Duty: Warzone, Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) and motor-racing contest Rennsport.

Hot team favorites this year include reigning champions Team Falcons as well as Team Liquid, FaZe Clan, Fnatic and Team Vitality.

For the first time, Chess is among the games in the line-up with five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen serving as both competitor for Team Liquid and official Global Ambassador. Other contenders in the tournament include grandmasters Hikaru Nakamura (Team Falcons), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Team Vitality) and R Praggnanandhaa (Team Liquid).

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has also joined as a Global Ambassador, further strengthening connections between esports and traditional sports.

IMG’s EWC partnership builds on a strong esports track record with the organization previously working on events such as EA Sports, BLAST, Epic Games, PGL Esports, Riot Games, the International Olympic Committee and the Global Esports Games.

The IMG production and content is part of a larger EWC audiovisual operation promising 7,000 hours of live content, shot from four arenas and 26 studios, representing a 55% increase on the 2024 offering.

A dedicated global production staff of more than 550 people, plus an event crew of more than 300 people, will be working on site.

Key global distribution partners include FOX Sports and DAZN in the U.S; Eurosport, DAZN, and L’Equipe across Europe; TOD.tv, MBC, TRT in MENA; SuperSport and StarTimes in Africa; Channel 7, Astro, TAP, Abema, Kuaishou, Douyin, and NAVER in Asia-Pacific. The tournaments will also be streamed live on Twitch, YouTube and TikTok.

This year’s edition has also been teased by Prime Video’s five-part documentary Esports World Cup: Level Up by Emmy-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler (Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, Elton John: Never Too Late), going behind-the-scenes of the inaugural Esports World Cup in 2024.

According to EWC figures, the 2024 edition drew 500 million viewers, with 252 million hours watched, 6.3 million peak viewers and 311 million households reached via linear TV. The content was delivered across more than 2,000 channels and co-streams, generating over 3.5 billion impressions, with an estimated $1.2 billion media value.