Set your calendar for 18 July 2026 and book Riyadh flights early–Saudi Arabia Esports World Cup committee has locked a $120 million prize pool, the biggest single-event purse in competitive-gaming history. Last year club championship paid $45 million; the new figure almost triples that and beats the combined payouts of the last four Dota 2 Internationals.
The money splits into four clear tiers. $70 million funds the 22-title club competition, with each game handing $3 million to the winner and $150 k to last place–every qualified team flies home profitable. Another $20 million fuels the nation-vs-nation ranking, $15 million backs the 4v4 women circuit, and $15 million feeds a short-format mobile-only bracket aimed at MENA grassroots squads. Payment hits players’ bank accounts within 72 hours of medal ceremonies, eliminating the awkward half-year waits that plagued previous majors.
Qualification paths open 1 October 2025. PC and console events use open online cups plus four regional LAN finals; mobile titles rely on TikTok-streamed qualifiers that already average 2.3 million live viewers in MENA alone. Studios in Cairo and Istanbul will host English and Arabic broadcasts with 1080p 240 fps feeds and sub-40 ms server latency, so even reflex-heavy shooters feel local for European and Asian rosters.
Organizers have added one twist that could shuffle team line-ups: clubs may add one wildcard pick from outside their registered roster, provided the player has not competed under another banner in the same title since January 2026. The rule mirrors football late-window transfer drama–https://librea.one/articles/scout-reveals-liverpool-60m-signing-almost-joined-psg.html–and already has G2, FaZe and T1 scouting unsigned rookies who could swing a $3 million first prize.
Visas are processed through a dedicated Esports World Cup portal that issues 14-day e-visas within 48 hours for holders of tournament accreditation. Hotels near the Boulevard venue are block-booked at $140 per night for players; spectators can reserve discounted rooms through the same portal until 30 June 2026. After that, Riyadh mid-summer rates jump above $300, so locking dates now saves serious cash.
Prize Pool Breakdown by Game Title
Pick Dota 2 if you want the biggest single-game cheque: $28 million of the $75 million total sits in its column, and 45 % of that flows straight to the winning squad–roughly $12.6 million split five ways.
Counter-Strike 2 keeps the old Major feel alive with $20 million, but the twist is Valve new "tier finish" system: every playoff win adds a $400 k bonus on top of placement money, so a quarter-final upset already nets an extra $1.2 million for the org.
Mobile die-hards should circle Honor of Kings; Tencent dropped $8 million here, and because the tournament runs on a "regional qualifier → global final" track, APAC teams that clinch their zone lock in a guaranteed $150 k before the plane ticket to Riyadh is even printed.
| Title | Pool (USD) | Winner Share | Min. Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dota 2 | $28 M | $12.6 M | $280 k |
| Counter-Strike 2 | $20 M | $8 M | $100 k |
| Honor of Kings | $8 M | $3.2 M | $150 k |
| PUBG Mobile | $7 M | $2.8 M | $70 k |
| Overwatch 2 | $5 M | $1.5 M | $50 k |
| 其余十项 | $7 M | varies | $25 k |
PUBG Mobile spreads the wealth widest: 100 teams reach the group stage, each grabbing at least $70 k, so even a last-place drop still covers a year of scrims and bootcamps for most squads.
Overwatch 2 looks modest on paper with $5 million, but Blizzard skin-challenge fund kicks another $2 back to players–every MVP vote converts to $15 k extra for the nominee, making fame as lucrative as victory.
The remaining ten rotating titles share $7 million, and EWC organizers front-load 60 % of that into the first weekend to keep viewer numbers high; if you main a niche fighter like Tekken 8 or Rocket League, book early flights because pools shrink 20 % after each elimination day.
How $75M is split across 12 disciplines
Grab a calculator and open the official Esports World Cup 2026 rulebook–page 14 lists the exact per-title split. MOBAs swallow the lion share: League of Legends and Dota 2 each claim $11.5 M, with $8 M set aside for the winning team and the rest trickling down to 2nd–8th place. That single line item already eats 30.6 % of the total purse, so if you coach a tier-2 roster, budget flights and boot-camps early; every placement point translates to about $190 k.
First-person shooters divide $18 M three ways. Counter-Strike 2 leads with $7.5 M, distributing 45 % to the champion, 20 % to runner-up, and the remaining 35 % across quarter-finalists, meaning a 5th–8th finish still nets $400 k per squad. Overwatch 2 and Valorant each get $5.25 M; both titles pay the same depth (top 16) but Overwatch spreads money thinner–$150 k for 13th–16th versus Valorant $200 k–so Western contenders often prefer Riot shooter for slightly safer ROI.
Battle royales share $10.5 M. PUBG: Battlegrounds receives $4 M, split 40/20/10/5 % for 1st to 4th, while Apex Legends and Fortnite each get $3.25 M with identical curves. Squads that place 20th in any BR still walk away with $25 k, enough to cover a month of Korean scrims plus per-diems.
Fighting games look modest on paper–Tekken 8, Street Fighter 6, and Super Smash Bros. Melee each receive $2 M–but the individual payout is fierce. Tekken 1v1 format awards $800 k to the champion, more than a 5th-place Dota roster earns, so Japanese and Korean arcade specialists now prioritize Saudi qualifiers over Evo seeding points.
Racing and sports sims close the list. EA Sports FC 24 and Gran Turismo 7 share $4.5 M, with FC taking the bigger half ($2.5 M) because football clubs demand appearance fees. Gran Turismo $2 M purse pays 50 % to the solo winner, the highest first-place ratio in the entire festival, so veteran sim-riggers are swapping teams for a one-shot qualifier rather than grinding seasonal leagues.
- Total guarantee: every discipline pays at least 25 % of its pool to last-chance qualifiers, so open-bracket underdogs still fund their trip.
- Payment window: prize money hits bank accounts within 30 calendar days after the grand final, per Saudi General Entertainment Authority bylaws.
- Tax treaty: players from 37 countries enjoy zero withholding; others lose 5 % flat, far below the 30 % common at U.S. events.
Which two titles claim the biggest share
Book your July flights now if you bleed Dota 2 or Counter-Strike blue; the 2026 Esports World Cup splits $70 million across all games, and Valve pair alone swallows 42 % of that pile–$14.7 million for Dota 2 and $14 million for Counter-Strike 2, leaving the remaining 22 disciplines to fight for the rest.
Dota 2 bags the single largest slice: $7 million for the champion, $3 million for runner-up, plus $1.5 million in side quests like fastest Roshan kill and perfect-game bounties that pay out after every play-day. Counter-Strike 2 mirrors the format with $6.5 million for first place, but sweetens the pot with $500 k per map won in the grand finals, pushing the ceiling past $15 million if the series goes the distance.
- Both titles run double-elimination brackets that guarantee every qualified team at least six best-of-threes, so even squads that place 9-12th walk away with six-figure payouts.
- Valve revenue-share sticker system adds another 30 % to player earnings: every in-game purchase made during the tournament window feeds a live pool that updates hourly on the overlay.
- Organizers front-load 60 % of the prize money within the first ten days, giving teams cash flow for boot-camp costs before the knockout stage starts.
If you’re a pro, prioritize these two brackets; if you’re a fan, clear your schedule for the first two weekends when 80 % of the money gets handed out and watch parties in Riyadh hand free battle passes to every attendee who scans their wristband before the third map begins.
Minimum payout every qualified team locks in
Book your flight the moment you qualify–every one of the 96 teams flying to Riyadh pockets at least $175,000 before they boot up a single match, a 40 % jump over last year floor and enough to cover most organizations’ seasonal payroll.
The cash hits the club account within 72 hours after the opening ceremony, split 70 % to players, 20 % to coaching staff, 10 % reserved for org operational costs; Saudi Esports Federation auditors send a line-item breakdown the same day so finance managers can close the books before group stage ends.
If you place 65th-96th, you still leave with that $175 k, but you also keep every in-game skin revenue earned during the tournament–last year the bottom eight squads averaged an extra $22 k from marketplace sales, so list your stickers early while viewer traffic peaks.
Teams that survive groups and finish 33rd-64th see the floor rise to $275 k, paid in two lumps: half immediately, half after tax documents are submitted; South Korean and German rosters avoid double withholding by filing a simple DT-E form at the media center kiosk on day three.
Lock the payout currency in dollars, not riyals–the USD option is opt-out, not opt-in, and the exchange-rate buffer has saved Western orgs roughly 4.3 % on average each of the last two years; miss the 24-hour deadline and you’re stuck with local currency conversion on the day of transfer.
Pathways to Secure Your Share
Register your six-player roster on the EWC portal before 23:59 UTC, 14 March 2026; last year 1,300 squads missed the deadline and forfeited their $50,000 regional qualifier stipend.
Grind the open qualifiers on 2–5 April; they feed 128 of the 256 main-event slots, and every match is seeded by peak ELO from the past 90 days, so keep your ranked MMR above 2,850 to dodge early brackets stacked with ex-pros.
Sign the Saudi-player sponsorship waiver once you reach the Riyadh boot-camp; it adds a 7 % bonus to any prize money you earn and unlocks free lodging at the Radisson Blu for the full five-week duration, saving each player roughly $4,200 in hotel bills.
Master the two new heroes dropping with the 7.36f mid-season patch–statistics from the 2025 Winter Cup show teams that first-picked them collected 0.38 extra kills per minute and converted 72 % of those games into 2-0 sweeps, a pattern analysts expect to repeat.
Exploit the 24-hour "coaching window" between group stage days; coaches can submit three enemy replay codes to tournament officials and receive anonymized heat-maps showing ward clusters and smoke paths for the cost of one $299 tactical review fee–cheap compared with the $15,000 average coach salary for a boot-camp week.
Pool your individual prize cut into the team treasury immediately; EWC pays through Stripe in USD, and Saudi banks apply a 5 % currency conversion surcharge if you wait longer than 48 hours after the wire hits your dashboard.
File the 15 % withholding-tax reclamation form at the airport departures desk; keep your boarding pass and passport scan ready–last year 312 players recovered an average of $8,940 each within six weeks, effectively turning economy flights into business-class upgrades.
Reinvest at least 30 % of net winnings into the 2027 qualifier circuit buy-ins; the esports index fund offered by SDAIA has posted 18 % annual returns since 2023, compounding your prize faster than a static savings account and hedging against meta shifts that could bench your star role tomorrow.
Open qualifier dates and entry fees
Mark 17–21 May on your calendar and pay US $15 per player to secure your slot; registration opens 3 April at 18:00 UTC on the official EWC portal and closes the moment 5 024 teams check in, so set a phone reminder and complete payment with Stripe or PayPal to avoid the wait-list.
If you miss the May window, a last-chance open qualifier runs 9–11 June, costs US $25, and feeds only the top eight rosters into the group stage, so treat the first week as your main shot and use the June date as a backup plan rather than a strategy.
Pro-rank point thresholds for auto-invite
Hit 2,700 EWC points before 23:59 UTC on 29 February 2026 and you’ll wake up on 1 March with a direct invite in your inbox–no open qualifier, no regional gatekeeper. The cutoff slid from 2,850 in 2025 because the new three-split season adds 40 % more ranked days, so grind smart: stop once you reach 2,740; every point above that decays at 15 per week while you’re offline, and you still need to finish the season at Diamond 1 or higher to lock the invite.
Auto-invite tiers:
- 2,700–2,850 points → group-stage slot
- 2,851–3,050 → upper-bracket start
- 3,051+ → upper-bracket plus travel stipend
Track your status live on the EWC portal; the badge turns green the moment you cross the line. If you slip below 2,700 after the freeze, you drop to the last-chance qualifier list, so keep playing at least one ranked game every 72 h to avoid decay.
Q&A:
How much money is on the line for the Esports World Cup 2026, and which games get the biggest slices?
The total purse is set at USD 85 million. About 45 % of that is split among the 22 core competitions, with DOTA 2, Counter-Strike 2 and Mobile Legends each receiving USD 5 million, while titles like PUBG and Valorant sit at USD 3 million. The remaining 55 % funds national-team standings, MVP bonuses and daily knock-outs, so almost every participant has more than one way to cash in.
Does the 2026 pool really beat every previous record, or is it just marketing hype?
It is the largest single-event prize in competitive-gaming history. The 2024 Gamers8 festival in Riyadh held the old mark at USD 45 million, and the International 2024 sat at USD 40 million. Even if you adjust for inflation, the jump to 85 million is real and exceeds the combined pools of the last three CS Majors plus the 2023 League Worlds.
When and how will players actually receive the cash?
Winners get wired the funds within ten business days after their final match, provided they pass routine anti-cheat and identity checks. Teams must submit verified bank details through a portal that opens the moment they qualify; if paperwork is late, payments are held until after the event. All sums are gross figures, so local taxes depend on the player home country and any treaties with Saudi Arabia.
Could such huge rewards tempt orgs to fix matches or share prize money under the table?
Organizers have tripled the compliance budget: every match is recorded from ten spectator angles, voice comms are stored for six months, and betting irregularities trigger automatic Sportrader flags. Penalties range from five-year bans to 100 % prize forfeiture plus fines equal to the amount the player stood to gain. In 2025 two semi-pro teams tried to split a USD 200 k qualifier pot; both were caught, banned and forced to repay double, so the risk is now far higher than the reward.
I’m a small-org owner. How can we secure a slot without flying to the Middle East every month for qualifiers?
Half of the spots are allocated through open online cups that run from October 2025 to March 2026; you only need to field a roster on your home server. The top eight from each region lock in travel stipends, so once you qualify, flights and hotels are covered. Keep an eye on the official calendar registration for the first cup opens September 3 and costs nothing beyond the usual in-client registration fee.
How much money is actually on the line for the 2026 Esports World Cup, and how does it stack up against the 2025 edition?
The total purse for 2026 is locked in at $75 million, a 25 % jump from last year $60 million. That extra $15 million comes mostly from new sponsorship tiers with three telecom giants and a luxury-watch brand, plus a 20 % cut of premium ticket sales that wasn’t factored into the 2025 budget.
My team only competes in one title will we still see any of that record pool, or is it only for clubs that enter every game?
Single-title squads still get paid. Roughly 60 % of the pool is tied to individual game standings, so if you win, say, the CS2 bracket, your roster takes home $2.8 million before org cuts. The remaining 40 % is the club-wide ranking that rewards multi-game organizations, but you can ignore that portion and still cash a seven-figure cheque by dominating your own tournament.
Reviews
CrystalWaves
ugh 50mil?? my kid spends more on skins! get a real job nerds, stop clicking mice and go fix a sink
Jennifer Wilson
My pulse races at the number: $120 million. I’ve played since I was eight, lugging a CRT to LAN cafés where the owner let me stay past midnight if I promised to sweep. Every pixel I clicked carried the same quiet prayer let the girl with the calloused thumbs matter. Now that purse looms like aurora over Riyadh, and I can’t sit still. It not just cash; it permission for every mother who muttered "waste of time" to see a daughter hoist a trophy taller than her little brother graduation photo. I want to scream at my teenage self still hiding in that dim corner: keep grinding, the world will flinch first.
Sarah Williams
If the prize pool blooms to fifty million, will you still cheer for pixel glory, or will you finally notice the girl who been whispering your name between headshots?
StormChug
$75 mln sounds fat until you do the math. Split five ways, taxed, agency fee, coach cut, you’re left with a Civic and a Twitch emote. Saudis print the number, we print the headlines, kids mortgage their wrists for 0.2 % shot. Spot the 18-year-old who hasn’t missed a sunset in six months; his mouse arm now clicks louder than his collarbone. I’ve seen the clinics they don’t Instagram: carpal tunnels carved like subway lines, Adderall breakfasts, melatonin dinners. Crown prince gets a photo op, VC gets ROI, player gets 36 months before reflex drops off a cliff. Call it a cup, run it like a casino: flashing LEDs, zero clocks, free Red Bull, house always wins. Tell mom it a sport; tell the taxman it a hobby; tell the surgeon it an emergency. Prize pool? PR pool.
Emily Johnson
They flash the prize, my kid thinks he’ll buy a penthouse with a joystick. Please. By 2026 inflation will eat half, Uncle Sam the rest, and the org will pay in locked tokens named after a meme dog. I’ll still be footing the grocery bill while he rages at ping.