The Atlanta FaZe defeated 100 Thieves (representing the Los Angeles Thieves) to win the tournament and $600,000. OpTic Texas, who were crowned 2024 CDL champions and were represented by their parent organization OpTic Gaming, lost to the eventual champions in the semi-finals.
Background
In October 2023, Saudi Arabia announced the inaugural Esports World Cup as the successor of Gamers8, the Saudi Esports Federation's previously existing esports festival, set to take place in Riyadh.[1] The event was developed as a part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, a plan led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aimed at diversifying the country's economy and reducing reliance on oil.[2]
Call of Duty content creators were involved in the promotion of the Esports World Cup since October 2023, most notably Scump.[citation needed] However, both Warzone and Modern Warfare III, the two then-current CoD titles, were revealed on June 12, 2024, as the twentieth and twenty-first games that would be at the event; they would also be the last titles announced that would award Club Championship points.[3] Due to the timing of the announcements coming close to the roster acquisition deadline, which was set for June 13, organizations were given two extra weeks to sign teams in both Call of Duty titles.[citation needed]
Format
The 16 teams who qualify for the tournament will be placed into 4 GSL-style groups of 4 teams, with each match being a best-of-5 map series. The winners and runners-up of each group will advance to a single elimination playoff bracket. The quarter-finals and semi-finals consist of best-of-5 map series, while the grand final is best-of-7.
The top 8 teams at the tournament (those who qualify for the playoffs) will gain Esports World Cup Club Championship points. Each organization will be able to qualify for the Club Championship itself if they place in the top 8 in another EWC event, with the winning team's organization able to win the Club Championship as well if they also place in the top 8 of another event.[4]
Qualified teams
Sixteen teams qualified for the tournament. Eleven of the twelve teams that made up the 2024 Call of Duty League season were invited to the event, with special seeding given to 7 of the teams that made up Championship Weekend, which was held in July; only the Los Angeles Guerrillas, who qualified for Championship Weekend, declined an invite.[5] The top four teams from the Challengers Finals, the season-ending championship of the tier-2 Challengers league, qualified for the event, while one team qualified via the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) qualifier.
