The world’s finest gamers will battle for fame and fortune across a series of exciting tournaments this summer. There will be millions of dollars up for grabs, and esports fans can look forward to some epic battles between the best teams in the business. We have rounded up the seven biggest events to mark in your diary below.
Gamers8 Festival
The world’s largest esports and gaming festival will return to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on July 6, featuring 15 tournaments, 10 titles and more than 200 teams.
One thing the Saudis are not lacking is cash. They have stumped up $45 million in prize money for the eight-week event, held at Boulevard Riyadh City. It will include a $2 million Fortnite tournament, a $2 million Rocket League event, a $2 million Rainbow Six Siege showdown, several $1 million tournaments and, of course, the $15 million Dota 2 Riyad Masters.
It promises to be one of the biggest esports extravaganzas of all time, and you can stream the action live via Twitch.
Dota 2 Riyadh Masters
The Saudis have already upended several traditional sports. They rocked the world of golf by launching LIV Golf as a direct rival to the PGA Tour, while they have also launched the world’s richest horse race, purchased a Premier League soccer club and hosted world heavyweight title boxing bouts.
Now they have their sights set on the competitive sector, and their primary focus is on the most lucrative esport of them all – Dota 2. Last year’s Riyadh Masters, won by PSG.LGD, had a prize pool of $4 million, but the organizers have tripled it this time around. It will be the biggest Dota 2 event outside of the DPC ecosystem, bringing together the world’s top 20 teams to vie for glory.
They will come from six competitive regions, descending upon Riyadh on July 17 to get the tournament underway. The Grand Finals are scheduled for July 30. You can stream it via ESL’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
CS:GO – IEM Cologne
A prize pool of $1 million will be at stake when the top CS:GO teams head to Cologne for the latest Intel Extreme Masters showdown this summer. It kicks off on July 25, featuring the top 24 teams from across the globe.
Heroic are currently top of the HLTV world rankings, and the Danes could go into the tournament as favourites with sites offer esports betting in Canada, but they will face fierce competition from a stacked Vitality team featuring ZywOo, dupreeh, Magisk, apex and Spinx.
Natus Vincere are always in the mix, thanks to the individual brilliance of s1mple, and G2, FaZe and Cloud9 will also be in contention, so it promises to be another entertaining event.
Fortnite – FNCS Major 3
Fortnite has regained its status as one of the world’s most lucrative esports this year. The Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS) Global Championship – a duos event – features total prize money of $10 million, which brings back memories of the 2019 Fortnite World Cup.
It includes three FNCS Major events, each with a $2 million purse. Qualifying for the third and final tournament will begin on July 20, and it will culminate with the Grand Finals from August 18-20. The top teams will earn a place at the Fortnite Champion Series Global Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark, which will have a $4 million prize pool.
League of Legends – Summer Split
League of Legends remains the world’s most popular esport, and fans are eagerly anticipating the Summer Seasons. LCS Summer 2023 gets underway on June 1, followed by LEC Summer on June 17.
Cloud9 will carry a great deal of momentum into LCS Summer, after they outclassed the Golden Guardians in the CS Spring Grand Final. They also reached Round 2 of the Mid-Season Invitational before losing to Gen.G.
MAD Lions won the LEC Spring Split, beating Team BDS 3-2 in the Grand Final, and they will take some stopping this summer. We do not yet have the official dates for the LPL and LCK Summer Seasons, but they will be revealed soon.
Apex Legends – ALGS
The 2023 Apex Legends Global Series Championship will take place in London this summer, beginning on August 1. The 40 best Apex Legends teams in the world are competing to become ALGS champions, and they will vie for a $2 million purse.
They will be divided into four groups of 10, and each team will play 18 group stage matchups. Fans can then look forward to an intense bracket stage, culminating in a Grand Final, with $600,000 earmarked for the winning team and $320,000 for the runners-up.
Rocket League – RLCS World Championship
The 12th season of the Rocket League Championship Series will reach its denouement at PSD Bank Dome in Düsseldorf, Germany, this summer. The event begins on August 3 and ends on August 13.
The world’s best teams will compete for the lion’s share of a $2.1 million purse, with $600,000 going to the winning team, $400,000 to the runners-up and $200,000 to the beaten semi-finalists. Team BDS are the reigning champions, having prevailed in Fort Worth last year, but competition will be intense this time around.
