“We would love to have more competitive tournaments for women”: Esports World Cup on ecosystem support

Since its launch in 2024, the Esports World Cup (EWC) has generated a wealth of debate from within the whole esports community. 

The annual multi-title event, organised by the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF), takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and has raised concerns around inclusivity since its creation. 

Ahead of this year’s edition, Mike McCabe, COO of the Esports World Cup Foundation and Fabian Scheurmann, Chief Games Officer, discussed LGBTQ+ and women’s representation at the event in a press conference attended by Esports Insider.

At the press conference, McCabe reiterated to Esports Insider that everyone is welcome to compete at the Esports World Cup, regardless of sexual orientation or gender. 

“Everybody is welcome. Everyone who competes at EWC is welcome to the Kingdom. What Saudi Arabia is trying to do to shift the culture is to support competitive play,” he stated.

In recent years, the Saudi Esports Federation has invested in the women’s esports industry as part of its National Gaming and Esports Strategy. As a result, the Saudi eLeague hosts regional women’s tournaments for numerous titles, including VALORANT and Overwatch 2.

“As for the tournaments we have, we would love to have more competitive tournaments for women in EWC,” added McCabe. 

“What we need to do is work with publishers to build the circuits and pathways for those competitions to get onto the big stage. We hope that we have more and more women’s competitions in the future.”

While the Esports World Cup continues to reaffirm its stance on inclusivity, Saudi Arabia’s stance on LGBTQ+ communities still remains an area of concern. Homosexuality in the Kingdom is illegal and punished, resulting in backlash from several members of the community. In June 2025, Apex Legends player Hambino refused to attend the ALGS Mid-Season Playoffs due to the Kingdom’s human rights record and concerns for their safety.

Last year, geography-based guessing game GeoGuessr withdrew from the Esports World Cup Festival, an event that runs alongside the EWC. The creators of the title’s maps used for competitive play made them unavailable in protest of GeoGuessr’s presence in the festival. Shortly after the protest, GeoGuessr became the first title associated with the EWC to withdraw.

For the 2026 edition of the Esports World Cup, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) will once again feature a dedicated women’s tournament. The MLBB Women’s International will see 16 teams from across the world competing for its $500,000 (~£372,939) prize pool and to be crowned world champion.

The MLBB women’s esports scene is widely regarded as one of the most popular women’s ecosystems in the industry, alongside the likes of VALORANT. 

Stable esports ecosystems play a pivotal role in providing a platform for women to compete in events for their respective titles. For several years, ESL Impact acted as the world’s biggest women’s Counter-Strike circuit, offering large prize pools and attracting major organisations. 

However, in October 2025, ESL suspended the circuit indefinitely, citing an unsustainable economic model behind the decision. When asked about the potential for hosting a women’s Counter-Strike event as part of EWC, Scheurmann revealed that more needs to be done to improve stability. 

“We cannot carry ecosystems by themselves. Imagine you have a three or four-day tournament once a year, that’s not an ecosystem. You need to give professional players something to do all year round.”

He continued: “If we see that there are ecosystems being built for women, we will continue to double down on those, but they need to be existing, and it can’t be only us. If we see that they are growing, we are super happy to include them or consider them for inclusion in the future.”

Following the suspension of ESL Impact, ESL FACEIT Group joined forces with Brace for Impact to support women’s Counter-Strike as organisers look to fill the void left by the circuit’s absence.

“Hopefully, more organisers create more women’s tournaments for CS,” the Esports World Cup Foundation’s Chief Games Officer added.

“This will also help us make sure that we will introduce women’s Counter-Strike esports.”