Six (6) things we learned at the first Esports World Cup (EWC)

The Esports World Cup is in the books, and it was a truly incredible inaugural event. More than 1,500 of the best esports players from over 100 different teams met in Riyadh to compete for championships in 21 different games.

With that much competition, you know that there are going to be some serious takeaways, here are six to start!

You’re never too old to be the best in the game

He’s 35-years-old, but Xiao Hai wasn’t about to let a silly thing like age get in the way between him and his FGC aspirations. Despite being a certified old man — at least in esports years — he showed up at EWC: Street Fighter 6 and he took home that W over a field filled with competitors 10-years his junior.

Respect your elders, or they might roll you in Street Fighter.

An Apex Legends Finals can indeed go 7 hours

The EWC Apex Legends final used a unique match point format, in which teams need to reach a certain point threshold, and then once there they need to win a game to secure the championship. Easy enough right? Wrong.

It’s a really dope format, usually, but in this case it felt like one one who was on match point could close it out. Over the course of 12 games, 13 separate teams were in match point position. Finally in Game 13, Alliance stepped up to win the longest series in Apex Legends history, clocking in at over seven hours.

Faker is still the GOAT

Yeah, I said it, and I won’t be apologizing for this extraordinarily controversial opinion. Faker is still the GOAT.

Gen.G was the clear favorite heading into EWC League Of Legends, coming off a dominant MSI run. But after TES took them out early, it was anyone’s tournament for the taking. Faker took that as an invitation to dominate TES in the Grand FInals and lift yet another World Championship trophy — because that’s what GOATs do.

Fortnite is not just a battle royale

The classic question “where we dropping” didn’t really apply at EWC Fortnite, since it was done in a unique 4v4 style on set maps with set loadouts. The game played more like a third-person tactical shooter than it did like a battle royale, but it resulted in a very entertaining competition!

In the end XSET took the trophy, becoming the first non-battle royale Fortnite champions of the world.

FaZe Clan is BACK

FaZe Clan is an OG in Call Of Duty, but lately some have found themselves asking: Are they even good? Sure, they won the CDL way back in 2021, but in the past couple years their championship runs have been tragic.

But at the EWC COD MWlll, Atlanta FaZe was feeling themselves. They bested their rivals and the reigning CDL champs, OpTic, to set up a Grand Final matchup against 100 Thieves, where they overcame their choke gene to lay claim to their first real championship in 3 years. Welcome back, FaZe.

Team Vitality can lose in Women’s ML:BB

At EWC 2024, Smart Omega Empress dethroned the queens of ML:BB, Team Vitality. After 24 competitions in a row and nearly three years of flawless competition, Team Vitality has fallen. And a brand new team from the Philippines has risen! Bow before your new empress.