Electronic Sports World Cup

The Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC) is an international professional gaming championship. Every year, winners of national qualifier events around the world earn the right to represent their country in the ESWC Finals. The event has been praised for its organisation and ability to put on a good show for spectators.

The ESWC was originally created by a French company, Ligarena, that had previously hosted smaller Local Area Network (LAN) events in France under the name of LAN Arena. In 2003, Ligarena decided to do something on a larger scale and the ESWC was born. In 2005, Ligarena became Games-Services. In 2009, ESWC was bought by another French company, Games-Solution, which became the owner of the brand. In 2012, Oxent, an agency specialising in electronic sports, acquired the ESWC.

The grand finals and masters of ESWC have had a total prize purse of €1,721,000 between 2003 and 2010.

Overview

The first Electronic Sports World Cup was held in 2003 with a total of 358 participants from 37 countries and a prize purse of €150.000. To participate in the tournament, competitors had to place in their country's national qualifier. By 2006, the event had grown to 547 qualified participants from 53 countries and had a prize purse of $400,000 US. The event also featured the first competition with a game specifically made for it: TrackMania Nations.