The Esports World Cup 2024 is here! Hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the event will host a gargantuan $60 million prize pool across 19 different games, in what will promise to be one of the biggest esports events of all time.
We’re focusing on the Counter-Strike 2 tournament at the Esports World Cup 2024. With $1 million on the line, 15 of the best CS2 teams in the world will take to the server between July 17th – 21st to show their skills on the big stage.
Credit: Esports World Cup
If you want to catch the Esports World Cup 2024, you can do so on the tournament’s official Twitch page below:
The Esports World Cup 2024 will have three different stages – the Opening Stage, the Play-In Stage, and the Playoffs. Each stage is single-elimination, with the full format found below:
There are several ways that teams have qualified for the EWC 2024. Several teams, such as Spirit and NAVI, have qualified via winning a prestige CS2 tournament such as IEM Katowice or the Major. Others, such as FaZe and MOUZ, are there through their ESL World Ranking, rewarding consistent success in other tournaments. Then, six spots were also made available through a series of worldwide qualifiers, where teams like Sashi, M80, and FlyQuest made it through. The full list of teams attending the Esports World Cup 2024 CS2 tournament is as follows:
Credit: Esports World Cup
With such a large prize pool on the line, the EWC 2024 is guaranteed to be incredibly competitive. That said, there are still a few clear favorites for us. If Spirit can keep their early-year form up, you have to place them among the frontrunners. Their only issue will be the lack of tournaments compared to their competition. FaZe are usually good for a Grand Final appearance at a minimum, so you have to mention them, too.
For underdogs, look no further than back-to-back ESL Pro League winners MOUZ. You might not have them down as favorites, but they can beat anyone when they’re in good form. Also keep an eye on Sashi – this Danish team has been cooking something special in online tournaments, and it’ll be interesting to see how much of that translates to the LAN environment.
