“It’s the sheer scale that’s unheard of. Esports is just at the start of its tenure and it’s there to grow to become one of the biggest sports in the world in the next decades.” Ralf Reichert, Esports World Cup Foundation’s CEO

The Esports World Cup (EWC) 2025 is taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from July 7 to August 24, featuring 2,000 players and 200 Clubs from more than 100 countries. The Esports World Cup Foundation recently partnered with IMG to elevate broadcast coverage and reach new global audiences for the EWC. IMG is providing premium broadcast production, content strategy, global rights management, and international distribution for the tournament. In its second iteration, the tournament has managed to attract international stars – Magnus Carlsen is set to compete in the EWC, Cristiano Ronaldo is a Global Ambassador for the tournament, and Post Malone headlined the EWC opening ceremony. Adding a record $70 million prize pool to the mix, the tournament has been enjoying some publicity all over the world. Channel 7 are broadcasting the EWC live and free on 7plus, increasing the visibility of esports in Australia. As of July 14, the EWC has garnered just over 150 million Hours Watched, putting it in the all-time top 30 esports tournaments already, with more than a month of the EWC still to go. This article, first in a series, explores the growing popularity of the EWC and esports around the world and in Australia.

Esports Brand Health has been on the rise continuously over the past three years in multiple markets, including Saudi Arabia (30% uplift), the US (599% uplift), and Australia (148% uplift). These results underline the growing popularity for esports around the world. Brand Health has almost doubled among Australians over the last year (2.4pts to 4.6pts), further highlighting the recently growing popularity for the sport in Australia. This growth in Brand Health in Australia justifies Channel 7’s decision to secure the rights for the EWC this year.

Top Esports Franchises, Leagues, and Teams among Australian Fans

Call of Duty (29%) and FIFA (23%) are the two esports franchises that Australian esports fans follow the most, followed by Call of Duty: Mobile (22%). FIFA and Call of Duty: Mobile saw significant YOY uplifts in followers. More than a quarter of all esports fans are aware of the Call of Duty League (CDL) (31%) and Call of Duty: Mobile World Championships (25%), further highlighting the strong base for Call of Duty among Australians. These two competitions are also the most followed among Australian esports fans (20% and 17%, respectively). Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship and Arena of Valor World Cup saw strong YOY growth in Awareness and Followers. American teams 100 Thieves (19%) and Cloud9 (17%) make up the most-followed teams among Australian Fans, followed by Astralis (15%), the Danish team. 100 Thieves and Astralis also saw strong YOY uplift in Australian supporters. In summary, Call of Duty and Apex Legends dominate as the most common franchises / associated leagues among Australian esports fans, while Call of Duty: Mobile and Arena of Valor have seen strong YOY uplifts in competition Awareness and Followers.

Want to know more about esports in Australia? Stay tuned for further updates from YouGov Sport as we dive deeper into the consumption of esports, partnerships in esports, and related fan behaviours OR contact our Commercial Manager, Will Serocold at will.serocold@yougov.com