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Law Firm CMS Advises Esports World Cup Foundation

Published by

James Fudge

2 months ago

CMS supports Esports World Cup Foundation in all legal matters for EWC, firm reveals

Germany-based international law firm CMS formally announced Thursday that it has been advising the Esports World Cup Foundation on the Esports World Cup, currently taking place now in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, until Aug. 25.

Financial terms of the services provided were not disclosed.

According to a release, the multijurisdictional firm made available a team of 30 attorneys (led by partners Dr Pietro Graf Fringuelli and Samuel Oustayiannis) to provide “full legal support” to the Esports World Cup Foundation on a number of topics including all team agreements, the EWC rulebook and associated regulations for participation, all sponsorship agreements, media rights and partnership agreements, and agreements with publishers.

CMS describes itself as a “future facing” organization of independent law firms with 84 offices in more than 47 countries (China, UAE, Brussels, the U.S., Australia, the UK, etc.) and more than 5,800 lawyers worldwide.

The Esports World Cup is a multi-week, multi-discipline esports competition running from July 3 – Aug. 25, in Riyadh. The event features a total prize pool of $60M USD spread across multiple games including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Call of Duty: Warzone, Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, EA Sports FC 24, Fortnite, Free Fire, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Overwatch 2, PUBG Battlegrounds, PUBG Mobile, Rennsport, Rocket League, StarCraft II, Street Fighter 6, Teamfight Tactics, TEKKEN 8, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Siege.

The Esports World Cup is funded by a grant from the Saudi Arabian government, while competitions are being facilitated by ESL FACEIT Group, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Savvy Games Group—which in turn is owned by the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund and its Chairman of the board is Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler HRH Crown Prince MBS. EFG is home to tournament organizer ESL, Esports Engine, competition platform FACEIT, and esports and gaming festival company DreamHack.

James Fudge

With a career spanning over two decades in the esports and gaming journalism landscape, James Fudge stands as a seasoned veteran and a pivotal figure in the evolution of esports media. His journey began in 1997 at Game-Wire / Avault, where he curated gaming and community news, laying the groundwork for his expertise in the field. In his more recent roles, James cemented his status as an authority in the esports business sphere as Senior Editor Esports at Sports Business Journal and The Esports Observer between 2018 and 2021.