Saudi Arabia-based Gamers8 reveals esports event with largest-ever prize pool

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Gamers8, the Saudi Arabian esports organizer, announced its 2023 event, The Land of Heroes, earlier this week. What caught the attention of fans was the fact that it would carry the largest prize pool ever for any esports tournament, with a total of $45 million on offer. This figure easily surpasses the current record holder, Dota 2’s The International event from 2021, which had a total purse of $40m.

Gamers8 will split the record haul among a bunch of games, the list of which has not yet been revealed. Last year, the competition had these games: PUBG Mobile, Rainbow Six Siege, Fortnite, Dota 2, and Rocket League. 

Saudi Esports Federation Chairman Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan had this to say about the event:

“It is our great pleasure to once again welcome the elite of the esports world to Riyadh for Gamers8, the Land of Heroes, where the very best in esports shine and triumph. Our goal is to serve the global community of esports and gaming enthusiasts, and ultimately to develop the global ecosystem of esports.”

Interestingly, the company had in January disclosed a prize pool of $30 million for its 2023 edition, but since they want it to be “bigger in every way,” including more games and a larger prize pool, it was bumped up to being three times as much as 2022’s prize pool, which was $15 million.

There will also be bonuses for players, as seen in 2022, and there is a chance this massive purse amount could be further raised before the event comes around. After all, the Saudi government has been on a mission to become a powerhouse in the esports industry, as one of its entities, Savvy Gaming Group, recently purchased two of the biggest tournament organizers — ESL Gaming and FACEIT — for a combined $1.5 billion.

  Top tournaments organized by Gamers8 in 2022   

Among the events that Gamers8 held in 2022, unsurprisingly, Dota 2, PUBG Mobile, and Fortnite did the best viewership numbers across the board. It will thus be a shock if these titles are not retained for this year’s tournament.

With the organization looking to go big, there is every chance that games like CS:GO, Valorant, FIFA, LoL, and MLBB are added to the mix. After all, they have some of the biggest esports competitions going around today, and that will only mean more eyeballs and fan support at The Land of Heroes.

A recent report by journalist Mikhail Klimentov also revealed that Savvy Gaming Group CEO Brian Ward has big plans for the future. In a pitch to the employees of Vindex, an esports infrastructure company that ESL FACEIT recently acquired, he divulged that the company aims to “roll up the sector” and create an esports and entertainment company that is “bigger than Tencent.”

With an esports event finally set to beat the mark set by TI 10 a few years back, it is likely that more organizers will start raising their prize purses to attract more attention and ensure they remain at the forefront of the esports movement.