Cancelling Esports World Cup not an option, says organiser

Organisers say this year's Esports World Cup will involve more than 2,000 players and 200 clubs [Esports Foundation] Delaying this year's Esports World Cup (EWC), which has been moved from Saudi Arabia to Paris, was not an option, its organiser has said. The tournament, one of the biggest events in competitive gaming, attracts about 2,000 professional players hoping to win part of a $75m (£55m) prize pot. For the past two years it has been held in Saudi capital Riyadh, but this week bosses announced it had been relocated due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Mike McCabe, one of EWC's chief organisers, tells BBC Newsbeat cancelling the event outright would have meant esports clubs, which rely on streaming rights and prize money, would have lost out. The tournament is the latest major event to be affected by tensions in the Middle East, with this year's April Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain cancelled. As the EWC drew closer, teams set to compete began to ask what it meant for them.

"The regional situation and the instability was still a question mark for many of the players and fans", says McCabe, deputy CEO of tournament organisers the Esports Foundation. He says concerns over air travel disruption were a "primary consideration" when moving the tournament, and insisted the decision was made as early as possible. McCabe, however, stresses that pressure from players and fans did not influence the relocation, and says plans for the EWC to take place outside Saudi Arabia had already been announced.

"This was always part of the plan. There's just been a change of sequence", he says. "The EWC runs for seven weeks, but we spend many months planning for it," he says.