The Electronic Sports World Convention (ESWC) (formerly known as Electronic Sports World Cup) is an international

professional gaming Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

championship. Every year, winners of national qualifier events around the world earn the right to represent their country in the ESWC Finals. The event has been praised for its organisation and ability to put on a good show for spectators. The ESWC was originally created by a French company, Ligarena, that had previously hosted smaller

Local Area Network A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building. By contrast, a wide area network (WAN) not only covers a larger ...

(LAN) events in France under the name of LAN Arena. In 2003, Ligarena decided to do something on a larger scale and the ESWC was born. In 2005, Ligarena became Games-Services. In 2009, ESWC was bought by another French company, Games-Solution, which became the owner of the brand. In 2012, Oxent, an agency specialising in electronic sports, acquired the ESWC. The grand finals and masters of ESWC have had a total prize purse of €1,721,000 between 2003 and 2010.

Overview

The first Electronic Sports World Cup was held in 2003 with a total of 358 participants from 37 countries and a prize purse of €150,000. To participate in the tournament, competitors had to place in their country's national qualifier. By 2006, the event had grown to 547 qualified participants from 53 countries and had a prize purse of $400,000 US. The event also featured the first competition with a game specifically made for it: ''

TrackMania Nations ''TrackMania'' is a series of racing games for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo DS and Wii developed by Nadeo and Firebrand Games. Instead of following the usual trend of choosing a set car and track to play ...

''.

2003

The 2003 ESWC saw around 150,000 players narrowed down to just 358 players, from 37 different countries, who attended the finals at the

Futuroscope Futuroscope, or Parc du Futuroscope (), formerly known as Planète Futuroscope, is a French theme park based upon multimedia, cinematographic futuroscope and audio-visual techniques. It has several 3D cinemas and a few 4D cinemas along with ...

near

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

in France. The total prize fund for the event was €156,000. * SK Gaming representing Sweden in the ''Counter-Strike'' competition

2004

The 2004 finals were once again held at the Futuroscope. Roughly 400 finalists, from 41 countries, attended to compete for a €210,000 prize purse.

2005

In 2005, the venue was moved to a larger facility: The Carrousel du Louvre in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. The total prize payout was again raised - this time to €300,000. *SK-Gaming's, secondary, Danish squad

2006

The 2006 event took place at the

Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy Palais () may refer to: * Dance hall, popularly a ''palais de danse'', in the 1950s and 1960s in the UK * ''Palais'', French for palace ** Grand Palais, the Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées **Petit Palais, an art museum in Paris * Palais River in ...

and the total prize payout was approximately €300,000. * SK Gaming representing USA in Counter-Strike female

2007

The 2007 ESWC took place at the

Paris expo Porte de Versailles The Paris Expo Porte de Versailles is an exhibition and conference centre in Paris, France. It is located in the 15th arrondissement at Porte de Versailles Métro station between the Boulevard Périphérique and Boulevards of the Marshals. It ...

, Paris, from July 5 to July 8. There was a complete expo for this event, called "Mondial du Gaming" (World of Gaming). 750 finalists, from 51 countries, competed for a prize purse of $180,000 US.

2008

Leaving France for the first time, the 2008 Electronic Sports World Cup took place in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, USA, from August 25 to August 27 during the bigger " NVISION 08" event. The disciplines announced were: ''Counter-Strike'' (open and female), ''Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne'', ''Trackmania Nations Forever'', ''

Defense of the Ancients ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA'') is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) mod for the video game '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' (2002) and its expansion, '' The Frozen Throne''. The objective of the game is for each team to destroy ...

'' and, ''

Quake 3 ''Quake III Arena'' is a 1999 multiplayer-focused first-person shooter developed by id Software. The third installment of the ''Quake'' series, ''Arena'' differs from previous games by excluding a story-based single-player mode and focusing prima ...

''. ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' was not included because the global Konami authority had not given its support to the competition. The prize purse was approximately $200,000 US.

Masters of Paris

In place of the ESWC, the "Masters of Paris" was held from July 4 to July 6, during the "Mondial du Gaming", taking place at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The same disciplines took place during this Masters and offered additional qualifying slots for ESWC Grand Final in San Jose. All winners won a slot to participate in the ESWC Grand Final, and hotel accommodation in San Jose, free of charge.

Masters of Athens

"Masters of Athens" was held from October 17 to October 18, 2008, during the Athens Digital Week. Disciplines featured were ''Quake III'' and ''Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne''. The tournament had a $30.000 prize purse, and the champion qualified for ESWC 2009.

2009

Masters of Cheonan

*Venue:

Cheonan Cheonan (; 천안시, ''Cheonan-si''), also spelled Ch'ŏnan, is a city in South Chungcheong, South Korea. Cheonan has a population of 666,417 (2018), making it the most-populous city or county in South Chungcheong, and the third most-populous ci ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

*Prize: €54,000 *Date: 2–6 May 2009

2010

The 2010 "Electronic Sports World Cup", which took place at

Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disneyland Park is the origin ...

, featured a €213,500 prize purse. Games Solution (or DIP-Organisation) took over the ESWC in 2010.

2011

This event marked the transitional replacement and additions of several cornerstone tournament titles. This included the replacement of ''Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne'' with '' StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty'', as well as the replacement of ''Defense of the Ancients'' with ''

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota 2' ...

''. Additionally, this event marked the first and only year in which ''Counter-Strike: Source'' was present. It was also the last year that would include ''Counter-Strike 1.6'', which was the main attraction of the tournament for many years, and the last remaining game that had been featured in the inaugural ESWC event. * Date : From October 20 to October 25, 2011 * Venue :

Paris Games Week Paris Games Week, or simply PGW, is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles in Paris, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It ...

, Porte de Versailles,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

* Production
Photos

Videos

2012

* Date : From October 30 to November 4, 2012 * Venue :

, Porte de Versailles,

* Official disciplines : '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' on PC (5v5), ''

Shootmania Storm ''ShootMania Storm'' is a first-person shooter video game by Ubisoft and Nadeo. Just like its sister games ''TrackMania 2: Canyon, TrackMania 2'' and the yet-unreleased ''QuestMania'', it features 3 different environments, of which two have so ...

'' on PC (3v3), '' Call of Duty Black Ops 2'' on Xbox 360 (4v4), ''Dota 2'' on PC (5v5), ''

FIFA 14 ''FIFA 14'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released in September 2013 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStati ...

'' on Xbox 360 (1v1), ''

Trackmania ''TrackMania'' is a series of racing games for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo DS and Wii developed by Nadeo and Firebrand Games. Instead of following the usual trend of choosing a set car and track to play ...

² Stadium'' on PC (1v4) * Production
Photos

Videos

2013

* Date : From October 30 to November 3, 2013 * Venue :

, Porte de Versailles,

* Official disciplines : ''Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' on PC (5v5), ''ShootMania Storm'' on PC (3v3), ''Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 '' on Xbox 360 (4v4), ''Dota 2'' on PC (5v5), ''FIFA 14'' on Xbox 360 (1v1), ''Trackmania Stadium'' on PC (1v4) * Production
Archives

Photos

Videos

2014

* Date : From October 29 to November 2, 2014 * Venue :

, Porte de Versailles,

* Official disciplines : ''Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' on PC (5v5), '' Call of Duty:Ghosts'' on Xbox One (4v4), ''

Just Dance (video game) ''Just Dance'' is a 2009 music rhythm game developed by Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris and published by Ubisoft as the first main installment of the '' Just Dance'' series. The game was released exclusively for the Wii on November 17, 2009, in ...

'' on Xbox One (1v1), ''

FIFA 15 ''FIFA 15'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released on 23 September 2014 in North America, 25 September in Europe and 26 September in the United Kingdom ...

'' on Xbox One (1v1), ''Trackmania² Stadium'' on PC (1v4), ''ShootMania Storm'' on PC (3v3) * Production
Archives

Photos

Videos

2015

ESWC 2015 COD

* Date : May 2–3, 2015 * Venue : Zenith-Paris,

* Official disciplines : '' Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare'' on Xbox One (4v4)

ESWC 2015 CSGO

* Date : From July 9 to July 12, 2015 * Venue : Mondial des Jeux Loto Québec,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

* Official disciplines : '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' on PC (5v5)

2015 PGW

* Date : From October 28 to November 1, 2015 * Venue :

, Porte de Versailles,

* Official disciplines : Counter Strike: Global Offensive on PC (5vs5),

FIFA 16 ''FIFA 16'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android and iOS. The gam ...

, ''League of legends'' on PC (5vs5), Just Dance, ''Trackmania² Stadium'' on PC (1v4), ''ShootMania Storm'' on PC (3v3)

2016

* 1st $20,000 2,500

OpTic Gaming OpTic Gaming is an American professional esports and entertainment organization headquartered in Frisco, Texas. The organization currently operates a ''Call of Duty'' team in the Call of Duty League, OpTic Texas, they also operate a ''Overwatch' ...

* 2nd $10,000 1,500

Splyce Splyce (SPY) was a professional esports organization and media company based in Rochester, New York. Their ''League of Legends'' team was a franchise member of the LEC, Europe's top professional league for ''League of Legends''. Splyce announc ...

* 3rd $6,000 1,100 Rise Nation * 4th $4,000 900 Millenium

Medal Tally

Throughout the ESWC finals the medal tally is as follows (as of ESWC 2014):

External links

Electronic Sports World Cup

Official Media Partners

Cadred.org

ESEA News

References

{{Esports competitions World championships in esports StarCraft competitions Esports tournaments 2003 establishments in France StarCraft II competitions