Gamers8 2023 - A new round of eSports with $19,000,000 in prize money: what's known about the biggest commercial eSports festival
Yuriy SheremetThe eSports industry is growing by leaps and bounds, and that's a fact. From basement local LAN tournaments, cybersport has grown into a global international phenomenon with millions of fans around the world.
Games are played everywhere from North America to Asia, from Europe to the Middle East to South Africa. In recent years, another major player has entered the arena with a clear desire to dominate the eSports market - Saudi Arabia.
There is a genuine interest in competitive gaming in the Arab country, with significant investment in the industry and an increasing number of cyber sports sharks looking at the fast-growing market. The latter is characterised by the scale that has resulted in the Gamers8 series of tournaments.
In 2023, the international computer games and eSports festival returns to Riyadh with a total prize pool of $19,000,000. Top eSports clubs will gather in one place and we'll tell you everything you need to know about the upcoming event: which disciplines will be competing at Gamers8, how much money will be given away at the championships, when the games will be played, and who is behind it.
Gamers8 tournament history
Gamers8 2023 is not the first event of this scale. A similar event but with a smaller prime pool took place last year.
In 2022 Gamers8 held tournaments on Dota 2, Rocket League, Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, PUBG Mobile. The total prize pool for last year's Gamers8 tournament was $10,200,000:
- $4,000,000 in Dota 2.
- $2,000,000 in Rocket League
- $2,000,000 in PUBG MOBILEE.
- $1,200,000 in R6
- $1,000,000 on Fortnite
The main organiser of the championships in the Gamers8 series was the Saudi Cyber Sports Federation. In 2023, they will once again be the main driver for the development of cybersports in the region and, by extension, the world.
The Federation began its activities in 2017 and peaked with the announcement of Gamers8. In 2023, the global eSports festival will offer participants a total prize pool of $19,000,000, which will be drawn in Dota 2, CSGO, Rocket League and Fortnite.
Better than The International 2023: Why Riyadh Masters 2023
There's a big new player on the Dota 2 tournament roster for 2023 - the Riyadh Masters. It's part of the Gamers8 festival, offering participants an unprecedented prize pool.
The Riyadh Masters on Dota 2, held as part of the Gamers8 festival, will draw $15,000,000. Given that last year's TI raised ~$18,000,000, Riyadh Masters could be a significant competitor to Valve's The International 2023, to be held in the fall.
The main feature of Riyadh Masters 2023 is its belonging to the cycle of tournaments, whose final event will be the event itself. The Riyadh Masters 2023 competition year will start with future DreamLeague Season 19 matches and continue with DreamLeague Season 20.
The Riyadh Masters 2023 tournament will feature 20 teams from around the world. Teams will qualify for the tournament based on their performance in side events and DreamLeague S19 & S20.
Another important fact about Riyadh Masters 2023, aka Gamers8, is that the tournament belongs to ESL. It seems the renowned Dota 2 tournament operator intends to develop the game's tournament ecosystem in partnership with the Saudi Cyber Sports Federation.
The emergence of Riyadh Masters 2023 is helping to grow the scene and finally give space outside of Valve's DPC system. The existence of Riyadh Masters 2023 could influence Valve and force them to invest in The International 2023, which risks paling in the shadow of the Arabian festival.
Gamers8 on CSGO - the first major CS 2 championship?
Gamers8 have decided to explore new territory in 2023. For the first time in the history of the series, CSGO has been made a separate discipline at a festival.
Are you sure it's CSGO? Gamers8 on CS will take place from August 14 to 20, 2023, which means there's a good chance we'll be watching the first $1,000,000 Counter-Strike 2 tournament.
The possibility of a tournament in a new game would serve as great publicity for Counter-Strike 2. Obviously, the best teams in the world will be fighting for $1,000,000 because the closest competitor in terms of prize pool is the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 with a prize pool of $1,250,000.
The second factor in favour of holding Gamers8 on CS on the second version of the game is the release date of the latter. When CS2 was announced Valve promised it would be released this summer.
Knowing Valve's policy regarding dates, we can expect Counter-Strike 2 to arrive even later, but in the case of such a legendary series, mishaps must be stopped. The second game will be released on schedule, and it seems like August 14-20 is too late for its release: most likely, CS2 will see the light a little later than the end of the BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, which will officially be the last Major tournament in CSGO.
Gamers8 on CS will bring 12 teams together in one place. Apparently, some of the participants will get to the championship by invitation from the organizers, but some will be through the opening qualifiers.
The qualifiers for the Gamers8 Counter-Strike Championships will start on May 16 this year. If you suddenly don't know what Counter-Strike 2 is all about, you're here.
Fortnite eSports rebirth: Gamers8 on Fortnite
The Gamers8 festival is not only famous for its large prize pool, but also for its diverse pool of disciplines. One of the central events will be Gamers8 on Fortnite.
The tournament will offer participants $2,000,000, which will be the largest prisepool since Fortnite World Cup 2022, where $1,000,000 was raffled off. Notably, the creators of Fortnite Epic Games have nothing to do with the upcoming event: the tournament will be co-hosted by DreamHack and the Saudi Cyber Sports Federation.
Another feature of the Gamers8 Fortnite Championship is the championship mode. Fans will be watching the No Build mode, which hints at the popularity of the mod amongst the community and cyber athletes.
Like the Riyadh Masters 2023, Gamers8 on Fortnite will be part of a full series. The participants in the year's main Fortnite event will be determined by tournaments from DreamHack with a total prize pool of $250,000: DreamHack: San Diego, DreamHack Dallas and DreamHack Summer.
The equivalent of RLCS 2022-2023 World Championship - Gamers8 Rocket League
By far the fastest championship in the Gamers8 2023 festival. The tournament will offer $2,000,000, the second highest prize pool of the year.
The main event of the competition season, the RLCS 2022-2023 World Championship, will draw $2,100,000. Obviously, there will be as much excitement around the Gamers8 Rocket League as the World Championship.
The tournament will be a "mixed format" with 3×3, 2×2 and 1×1 matches. Qualifications for the championship will take place at Gamers Without Borders, Gamers8's partner organisation. The Saudi Championship itself will take place right after the World Cup, from August 21-27.
What's the bottom line
Gamers8 will play a huge role in the further development of eSports in the region and the world at large, as evidenced by the collaboration between the G8 organisers and global studios and tournament organisers. The classic Gamers Without Borders partner is joined by an increasing number of established market players like ESL who are responsible for Dota 2 and their sister organisation DreamHack who create the infrastructure for eSports Fortnite.
The epic festival of competitive games will offer plenty of quality matches in a variety of disciplines, but not only. The arenas of Gamers8 2023 will host concerts of musical performers, festival cosplay activities, meetings with video game developers and a global forum for the development of eSports.
Championships at the Gamers8 level contribute to the development of eSports, which we are happy about. We will follow the development of this particular series and hope that such events will become regular events.
Yuriy Sheremet – Expert in mobile gaming and esports among shooters and MOBA games.
At EGamersWorld, Yuriy, as in 2020 when he joined the portal, works with content, albeit with adjustments to his area of responsibility.