They're funding countries doing heinous shit, but the real point of contention here is that there is a tangible degree of separation between a private tournament run by a private business in the US with no direct government involvement and a tournament publicly funded by the Saudi government. If you're trying to make the first thing into a major ethics issue then it's basically impossible to operate a tournament anywhere in the world. If you focus on the second kind of situation then you have something you can actually make a difference with.
That's not relevant. If all their funding is coming from the Saudi government then it doesn't matter if they're an official government-linked entity or if it's being funneled into a shell company, they still exist only at the whim of the Saudi royal family. Yes, they could try and avoid a PR threat by setting up a shell company and hiding the flow of cash but that much money coming from nowhere is going to raise eyebrows in an autocratic country where the richest family happens to be the one running the government.
It can seem a little messy yeah, but I dont think its last minute communications, it is pretty usual for tournaments to be like this if you are used to Cs and lower tier events enviroment, its just that Riot/Valorant events usually come with a lot more info for regular ppl.
The lack of advertising of the rules etc is prob due to the fact they are organizing 30+ tournaments, not just Valorant.
Bad format is subjective, I really like it and think it should be the norm (except for playing more than once in the same day).
If they aren't broadcasted indeed its a pity.
As for the Schedule, it may feel congested for viewers, and maybe EMEA teams, but I think its fine for americas, most teams got 2-3 week breaks before it, and if it wasn't for EWC they would go 2 months+ without playing?
Idk why you're getting down voted. You hit the nail on the head. How could the EWC make up the money lost from over 1 trillion dollars worth of oil (and that's on the low side)??? Nothing will make up the loss of the oil industry for Saudi Arabia imo. That's just too much money to make up. Perhaps the country is trying to improve their reputation to promote tourism and the entertainment industry growth in Saudi Arabia, but it's primary purpose is to improve their reputation.
you asked why they were downfragged but then also found the counter point they were implying with promoting other industries growth.
If the oil dries up it is certainly true Saudis will not be rich any more. But they're hoping to build to a point where they will still at least be a country, though a much poorer one, when it does.
You're mistakenly looking at the growth of their esports industry as an isolated thing and not as part of a massive, coordinated, entertainment and sports-wide strategy to diversify their income channels. Yes a lot of it is for reputation improvement (which feeds into tourism in return) but there's no doubt they're trying to build up an economic base to replace future dwindling oil revenue. Anything is better than nothing even if it doesn't make up the full potential loss. They're basically trying to spend a lot of money for as long as possible on entertainment and spectacles and hoping it convinces people that they're the default destination for this stuff after a while.
i completely understand that, don't worry. However, I don't like the implication that the EWC will directly make up the hole left by the declining oil industry to the economy. I know that this is just part of Saudi Arabia's vision 2030 goals, which includes improving the entertainment industry. but what's the point of developing an industry when there is no incentive, a figurative carrot on the stick? that is what i think this EWC is, and I am sure that you and most people in this thread would agree with me. Yes, saudi arabia is hoping that this industry can make them a lot of money in the future. But they also have to show the world that they are willing to splash some money around to entice investors and consumers to participate in it, so that saudi arabia can eventually grow this properly in the long term. I guess both people were right earlier in the thread - the future of the saudi economy may rely on this, but unless the world unanimously decides to abandon fossil fuels tomorow, i would say that they have about 20 to 30 more years of oil money to fall back on before entertainment will become their major export, and they are just thinking in the long term.
There’s a reason Riot does things the way they do And let’s be honest: Riot scared cuz EWC brings more money 💸💰 💲to the table, and if it ever gets its act together, it could easily overshadow their own VCT tournaments. That’s exactly why they gatekeep the format and scheduling so aggressively, dont you think ?
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