As the Esports Awards announced its partnership with EWC for three upcoming years, there’s been an uproar in the esports industry. EWC is an esports festival that is backed by the Saudi Arabian government, to which several organisers have contributed. The initiative for this multi-title esports festival was taken by the Saudi Arabian Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman.
Since the Saudi government is involved in the EWC event, the prize pool that is kept is the highest in the history of esports. However, the country has been criticised by other stakeholders and members of the gaming community because of their stance on several political factors. Women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and censorship are a few of them to be mentioned, which is why stakeholders are feeling uneasy about having them as investors.
They even claim that their expansion in EWC is for “esportswashing” and that they want to distract the world from its human rights records. As the announcement of the partnership was made, many notable personalities like PGL CEO Silviu Stroie, esports host Caleb Simmons, Caster Parker MacKay, and on-air talent Thom ‘F.’ Badinger resigned from their respective posts in the panel.
Many other personalities, like host Alex Goldenboy Mendez, Sean Rogers, and more, took X as a medium to express their disagreement with this decision and also shared their personal views. However, the Esports Awards CEO, Michael Ashford, replied to these backlashes that it’s a good opportunity for them to be recognized globally and gain a unique position in the gaming ecosystem.
So, although the decision is not well-accepted by many people related to esports and gaming, the partnership is still going to be established for the next three years. The event and festival is fully funded and backed by the Saudi government and EWC is scheduled to be held in Riyadh.
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