The eSports world cup is currently known as the Electronic Sports World Convention (ESWC). This international competition involves several eSports, which take place yearly. Typically, national qualifier events usually take place among teams from all around the world.
Only the winners of the qualifiers get the right to represent their countries in the championship. The event's popularity has been growing gradually but steadily. It currently attracts hundreds of thousands of online spectators from across the world.
ESWC was created by a French company called Ligarena. The company was previously known for hosting smaller LAN events only within France. In 2003, the company decided to go big and host an event that participants from worldwide could join. That marked the birth of ESWC.
The company then grew and changed to Game–Services in 5005. It then brought in another company called Games-Solution in 2009, which later acquired ownership of its brand. In 2012, an agency called Oxent, which specializes in electronic sports, acquired ESWC.
ESWC participants
The first eSports world cup, which was held in 2003, had 358 different participants. A total of 37 countries participated in the event to win the prize money of 150,000 euros. The event featured only five games. The number of participants had reached 547 by 2006, representing 53 different countries. The prize money also grew to 400,000 US dollars. The number of games had also increased to seven.
ESWC has taken place each year ever since, with the number of participants constantly increasing every year. However, the prize money fluctuated in both directions, with some years having a pool prize lower than the previous years. In some years, the event's structure also changed to incorporate improvements that enhance the gamers' and spectators' experience.
Games features in ESWC
In 2003, only five games were featured in the ESWC event. These included the Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament, Warcraft III, Quake 3, and Counter-Strike Female. In 2004, Painkiller and Pro Evolution Soccer were added to the list. Each subsequent year also saw some additions of new games.
Gran Turismo 4, Trackmania Nations, Defense of the Ancients, Special Force, FIFA, Need for speed, Guitar Hero, Super Street Fighter, Dota, Shoot Mania Storm, Tekken, Call of Duty, Just Dance, and League of Legends are some of the other games that have ever been played in ESWC.
Whenever newer versions of a game featured in the tournament were released, they replaced the older versions. For example, FIFA 10 was replaced by FIFA 11 in 2011 and then FIFA 13 in 2012. The highest number of games to ever be featured in a single event is ten, back in 2010.
Other than the official titles, the tournament usually includes several other games. Generally, nearly all popular esports are usually played but not featured as main events. The games are categorized as fighting, first-person shooters, multiplayer online battle arenas, racing, sports, real-time strategy, third-person shooters, and card games.
Medal Tally
Currently, France holds the highest number of medals, which are 23 gold medals, 14 silver medals, and 25 bronze medals. The United States is in second place with 30 medals, followed by Sweden and South Korea. Of all the countries that have ever participated in the event, only 32 countries have won medals.