Steve Arhancet, co-CEO of Team Liquid, took a measured look at cultural change in Saudi Arabia and whether his esports team should participate in the Esports World Cup.
Both personally and professionally, he had to weigh whether going to the event in Riyadh and participating in the tournament was something he should do as a matter of reputational risk. He considered his decision important, as Team Liquid is a multigenerational esports brand and organization. Years ago, I took a tour of Team Liquid’s headquarters in Los Angeles during the esports boom. A lot has happened since that time, with many ups and downs.
Arhancet said that, as a gay man, he had to grapple with the notion of going to Saudi Arabia, where LGBTQ+ rights are an ongoing issue. His organization values diversity, equity, and inclusion, but he said he went into the kingdom with an open mind.
He noted that the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud changed a couple of hundred laws two years ago that affected the welfare of women and youth. It has not yet done so for LGBTQ+ people.
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The esports industry needs the money that Saudi Arabia is injecting into it. Savvy Games Group, which is owned by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, owns VSPO and ESL FaceIt, which have become major platforms for creators and esports tournaments.
All told, the Esports World Cup awarded $60 million in prizes after eight weeks of competition across 19 different games. Team Liquid came in second place in the Esports World Cup and walked away with $4 million in prizes.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia faces many human rights issues and critics have accused it of “sportwashing,” or using sports to give its regime legitimacy.
“Will people doubt us and think everything we’re doing is sportswashing? Sure. But we have to believe in what we see and experience firsthand, believe in nudging and incremental change over time. We want to be part of that,” Arhancet said.
The team went, and Arhancet noted that during June and July, his team was able to wear Pride uniforms while they played in Riyadh — a first for the esports team. Team Liquid was also the most watched team over two months at the Esports World Cup, according to Esports Charts. The organization had more than 21 million total hours watched. The most popular match was Falcons.Bren vs. Team Liquid Echo (MLBB) with 986,438 peak viewers.
Arhancet said, “Change doesn’t happen overnight. It happens slowly, over time. It happens in moments that you don’t plan for. One day you wake up and realize that things are different than they used to be. Here we sit on such an amazing opportunity, where gaming of all things, of all the industries that could connect us–gaming is connecting us here in Saudi Arabia.”
At the New Global Sport Conference in Riyadh, Arhancet spoke on a panel on diversity and inclusion.
Here’s an edited transcript of our interview?
Disclosure: The NGSC paid my way to Saudi Arabia and GamesBeat was a media partner for the event.