The world’s top gamers began competing for a $70 million prize pool in Riyadh on July 7, as the Esports World Cup kicked off its second edition. 

For competitors, this represents a record prize pool for an esports tournament. For Saudi Arabia, however, the event is more than just a spectacle — it's the centerpiece in an expensive attempt to turn the kingdom into a gaming powerhouse.

The seven-week tournament — featuring star players, celebrities and sponsors from Aramco to Amazon — is part of Riyadh’s broader quest to secure a dominant role in the nearly $200 billion global video game market, a major plank of a broader sports and entertainment strategy under the kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic diversification agenda. 

Although aligned with Riyadh’s overall sports strategy, the Esports World Cup also plays a unique role in showcasing the Gulf nation’s tech and pop culture reach. According to Dan Plumley, a sports finance expert at the UK’s Sheffield Hallam University, this tournament is more of an entertainment proposition that will hopefully appeal to younger audiences. “It is all part of the bigger package,” Plumley told Al-Monitor.