The Riyadh Masters Dota 2 event at the inaugural Esports World Cup will offer a $5 million prize pool, the highest among 19 competitions. This amount tops those for PUBG Mobile at $3.8 million and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang at $3.5 million. The tournament runs from July 4 to 21 in Riyadh.
The Esports World Cup 2024, marking its first edition, includes 19 competitions, with most featuring $1 million prize pools. The Dota 2 segment, known as Riyadh Masters, stands out with $5 million available, though this is one-quarter of the $15 million from last year's edition.
Twenty teams will compete, including eight direct invites based on ESL Pro Tour rankings and twelve from regional qualifiers. Those qualifiers will have their own prize pool, details of which remain unannounced. So far, five teams have qualified via ESL Pro Tour: BetBoom Team, Team Falcons, Xtreme Gaming, Gaimin Gladiators, and Team Liquid. Three additional spots will be determined after DreamLeague Season 23, the last event of the first ESL Pro Tour season.
The tournament spans three weeks from July 4 to 21, divided into stages. The play-in stage occurs July 4-7 with two round-robin groups playing best-of-two series; top three teams from each group advance, along with winners of matches between fourth and fifth from opposite groups. The group stage follows July 10-14, where first- through fourth-placed teams go to playoffs upper bracket, fifth- and sixth-placed to lower bracket, and seventh- and eighth-placed are eliminated.
Playoffs run July 16-21 in a 12-team double-elimination format with best-of-three series, except for best-of-five grand finals. Overall, the Esports World Cup boasts a total prize pool exceeding $60 million across all events.