One tournament, many disciplines: The Esports World Cup challenges the breadth of organizations. The CEOs of Gen.G and NIP explain why this has a future—and what goals they have set for themselves.
Arnold Hurr calls the event in Saudi Arabia “a crucial part of our tournament calendar” in an interview with eSport. The CEO of Gen.G says that his players particularly highlight the Esports World Cup (EWC). This is no insignificant statement, given that the organization has already collected major titles in League of Legends, Valorant, and Rocket League. More are set to be added at the EWC.
NIP and Gen.G on their way to the biggest triumph
“Our goal here is the same as everywhere else: we want to get better every day. We know how we performed last year – and we want to be better this year,” says Hurr. At the event’s press conference, the main focus is on celebrating esports. However, his focus is on the competitive aspect: “For us, it’s about the competition. That’s how we respect a tournament.”
Hicham Chahine, CEO of Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP for short), takes a similar view: “Competition is in NIP’s DNA. So we’re here to win,” he said in an interview with eSport. Currently, he is only interested in one or two victories. But in the future, NIP also wants to go for the biggest title – the EWC Club Championship.
This title would be worth more to him than the traditional world championships organized by publishers: “I’d rather win Worlds in League of Legends or a Major in Counter-Strike than the individual tournaments here. But if I win both titles at the EWC and get to lift the Club Championship trophy, then I’ll take it.”
Olympic-style eSports tournaments
For Chahine, winning the Club Championship at the EWC is proof that the structures within an organization are working: “It’s really impressive when you can replicate the success of one game in others.” That’s why he considers it the biggest title currently achievable in eSports.
“At the moment, it’s still about how many teams an organization has. In the future, it will be about how players and their talent are developed,“ says Chahine. He is convinced that youth development will soon decide EWC titles – and is confident that NIP is well positioned for this.
Tournaments with multiple games – Hurr agrees that this is the format of the future: ”Not all publishers can build a single ecosystem. There will be more cross-title tournaments because there is no other option. And the EWC brings a lot of its own infrastructure to the table.“
Nevertheless, the Gen.G CEO does not want to hear any comparisons with the Olympic Games: ”We always try to copy traditional sports. Most of the time, it doesn’t work anyway. We should stop doing that.”
A meeting place for the best – across disciplines
Forward-looking – that’s how the two CEOs see the EWC. “I’m happy that the Esports World Cup was held last year. It made us interesting to the world again,” says Chahine. “It’s also a unique product. It allows us to compete as clubs.”
The connections formed between top players from different titles remain in the memories of both organization bosses. Hurr also reports: “You don’t usually see League of Legends players talking to chess players. It’s just cool to see that kind of interaction.”
