Gamers from across the globe will compete for $60 million dollars in prize money at the first-ever Esports World Cup which kicks off in Riyadh on Wednesday. 

Organizers say more than 1,500 elite e-sport players from over 60 countries will compete in the first edition of the competition which will run through August 25.

The massive prize pool is billed as the largest ever for an e-sports contest.

Twenty million dollars of the prize pool will be allotted to the Club Championship which features a unique cross-game format with the top 16 clubs being awarded for their overall performance across multiple games.

"The interest across the world is gigantic... I am a deep believer through generational change, through e-sports being the largest media – games, being the largest media of the 21st century, that the first editions are going to be fantastic, but it's literally just going to be the start," Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, told media during a press conference in Riyadh on Tuesday. 

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The best performing club will be crowned the world’s first Esports World Cup Club Champions at the end of the event.

The game roster features (in alphabetical order): Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Call of Duty: Warzone, 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, ESL R1, Rocket League, StarCraft II, Street Fighter 6, Teamfight Tactics, TEKKEN 8 and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Siege. 

Parallel to the competition, there will also be an e-sports fandom and gaming culture festival.

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(Production: Mohammed Benmansour, Kurt Michael Hall)