The Esports World Cup Foundation announced a partnership with Riot Games to bring League of Legends, Valorant, and Teamfight Tactics to the Esports World Cup 2025 this summer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Financial terms of this new deal were not disclosed.
The news wasn’t particularly surprising for anyone who has been paying attention to Riot or the Esports World Cup Foundation—last year Riot allowed both Teamfight tactics and League of Legends to have a presence at the eight-week competition, and told The Esports Advocate that it would have included Valorant if not for some scheduling conflicts with the competitive calendar for the Valorant Champions Tour.
The new three-year partnership will see Valorant, Teamfight Tactics, and League of Legends become official club titles for the event. The announcement from the Esports World Cup Foundation notes that Valorant’s presence during the Esports World Cup will serve as “the largest major tournament outside the VCT structure,” while “TFT will provide opportunities for top, international talent to compete in an exciting team format.” In addition, this new agreement includes “a global commercial partnership between EWCF and LOL Esports, the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), and the TFT 2025 competitive circuit. This includes but is not limited to EWC in-broadcast activations at LoL Esports, VCT, and TFT global LAN events.
“Riot Games has shaped the cultural impact of competitive gaming, transforming esports into a global entertainment force,” said Fabian Scheuermann, chief games officer, Esports World Cup Foundation. “With League of Legends’ iconic World Championship – which continues to set new standards for immersive experiences, VALORANT’s cultural collaborations, and Teamfight Tactics’ community-driven events, Riot has pioneered an ecosystem far beyond competition. By bringing these titles to the Esports World Cup, we are not just celebrating elite gameplay – we are, together, expanding esports as a global entertainment movement, creating deeper connections with fans across gaming, music, and digital culture.”
In case you are not familiar with it, the Esports World Cup is a multi-title, eight-week competition held on an annual basis during the summer that is managed by the Esports World Cup Foundation, a non-profit funded (it claims) by a sporting grant from the Saudi government’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund. The Esports World Cup is operated by ESL FACEIT Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi government-owned gaming and esports company Savvy Games Group. EFG is home to a number of tournament organizers and broadcast production companies including DreamHack, ESL, FACEIT, and Esports Engine.
Projects backed or owned by the Saudi Arabian government such as the Esports World Cup are frequently criticized for helping the government engage in what is called “sports washing,” or using various forms of sport and entertainment to cover up its record on human rights, women’s rights, LGTBQ+ rights, military actions in Yemen, and more. These and other criticisms are actively highlighted by international watchdog groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.