Starting this July, the Esports World Cup (EWC) will bring together top competitors in what is often called the “Olympics of Esports.” Featuring over 20 different disciplines, many of which are less commonly discussed in some communities, the EWC offers a unique opportunity to analyze which countries truly dominate specific esports titles. Using the EWC as our case study, we`ve decided to look closely at eleven popular games that will be showcased in Riyadh.
Note: Qualifiers for EWC 2025 are still ongoing for some disciplines, so in certain cases, we will be referencing statistics from last year`s EWC (this will be indicated separately).
VALORANT
This discipline is broadly divided into four regions: Americas, China, EMEA, and Oceania. Despite a large number of players from the United States, recent major trophies have been shared primarily among teams from China, other parts of Asia, and mixed European rosters.
Top 5 Countries by Player Count in 2024:
- [Data missing from source text]
Last Year`s Winner (2023):
[Data missing from source text]
Unexpected Countries:
- [Data missing from source text]
Mobile Legends
Representatives from Southeast Asia have long reigned supreme in Mobile Legends, consistently competing for and winning major trophies. Teams from the CIS region occasionally attempt to challenge their dominance. North America and Europe (with the exception of Turkey) are largely underrepresented in the professional scene.
Top 5 Countries by Player Count in 2024:
- [Data missing from source text]
Last Year`s Winner (2023):
[Data missing from source text]
Unexpected Countries:
- [Data missing from source text]
PUBG Mobile
Notably, the prize pool for the mobile version of PUBG at EWC is larger than that for the PC version. As is common in many mobile games, the professional PUBG Mobile scene features many players from Southeast Asia. However, players from Brazil and, surprisingly, Mongolia, also stand out significantly here.
Top 5 Countries by Player Count (2024):
- [Data missing from source text]
Last Year`s Winner (2023):
[Data missing from source text]
Unexpected Countries:
- [Data missing from source text]
PUBG (PC)
While the prize pool for the PC version of PUBG is a million dollars less than the mobile version, the tournament will feature significantly more players because PC rosters consist of five esports athletes (compared to four in PUBG Mobile). Here, Brazil did not even make it into the top three countries with the most esports players, ranking eighth.
Top 5 Countries by Player Count (2024):
- [Data missing from source text]
Last Year`s Winner (2023):
[Data missing from source text]
League of Legends
In League of Legends, the situation remains consistent: Koreans dominate, while Chinese teams attempt to challenge them. European teams generally play a secondary role.
Top 5 Countries by Player Count:
- [Data missing from source text]
Last Year`s Winner (2023):
[Data missing from source text]
Rocket League
Despite strong representation from North America, only “one and a half” rosters from this region made it into the top 5 last year, with the remaining spots filled by Europeans and CIS players. For 2025, the number of US representatives will be almost double that of 2024.
Top 5 Countries by Player Count:
- [Data missing from source text]
Last Year`s Winner (2023):
[Data missing from source text]
Unexpected Countries:
- [Data missing from source text]
Free Fire
Here`s another mobile battle royale. While the game actively tried to enter the CIS market some time ago, there are currently no top-level representatives from that region. This also applies to North America, China, and Europe. However, Free Fire, for example, has separate qualifiers for Pakistan and Bangladesh. In the latter, for instance, 24 professional teams competed just to qualify for the EWC. But the clear leaders in this discipline are undoubtedly representatives from Thailand.
Top 3 Countries by Player Count (Others have significantly fewer):
- [Data missing from source text]
Last Year`s Winner (2023):
[Data missing from source text]
Call of Duty: Warzone
In Call of Duty: Warzone, North America and Europe are the primary regions. MENA representatives also secure slots (two, specifically), along with South America and Oceania. Regions completely absent from this discipline include CIS, China, and Southeast Asia players. Surprisingly, there`s a significant number of English players, who are rarely found in large numbers in other disciplines.
Top 5 Countries by Player Count:
- [Data missing from source text]
Last Year`s Winner (2023):
[Data missing from source text]
Dota 2
In Dota 2, purely mononational rosters are typically only found in CIS, China, and Peru. However, the Peruvian scene has declined this season, although they consistently ranked high in player representation at events like TI over the past three years. China will only be represented by one team at EWC 2025, and even that roster includes Poloson from Singapore, leaving only four players from mainland China.
Top 3 Countries by Player Count:
- [Data missing from source text]
Counter-Strike
Modern CS is one of the most diverse disciplines in esports. At the tier-1 level, it features teams from CIS, Europe, North and South America, and recently even Asia, with Mongolian and Chinese teams emerging. The scene has always had both mononational rosters and diverse mixes. Therefore, no single country dominates CS.
Top 3 Countries by Player Count:
- [Data missing from source text]
Last Year`s Winner (2023):
[Data missing from source text]
Finley Holt