America has lost its edge in esports and the creation of the nonprofit organization, USA Esports, felt like it could give the country back some of its competitiveness. That hope was dashed when USA Esports announced that it was competing at the Esports Nations Cup, funded by the Esports World Cup Foundation, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
There is really no denying that the United States is not really a top mecca of budding esports talent. It was big news when the BLAST.TV Austin Major 2025 brought Counter-Strike back to the States after seven years. I recall attending a panel ahead of the tournament where BLAST talked about the old days of CS:GO LAN events in Texas before the scene started to disappear.
The League of Legends Champion Series (LCS) is notoriously bad compared to teams from Europe, China, and South Korea. It saw significantly lower views as well, since the teams were not gonna make it to Worlds anyway, prompting Riot to attempt the failed LTA merger.
America sorta has fighting games, but even those titles are dominated by Japan. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has gone from Americans in the Top 8 to mostly players from Japan and Mexico. Rainbow Six Siege is big in Brazil. Mobile esports are practically owned by Southeast Asia. I’m struggling to think of any esports where America has a super strong presence aside from Call of Duty.
American esports fans had a short bout of excitement when USA Esports was announced. The non-profit aims to be the National Governing Body for esports in the United States, spanning collegiate, amateur, and professional scenes. Teams like Cloud9, Team Liquid, TSM, 100 Thieves, NRG, FlyQuest, and M80 joined the coalition.
The ultimate goal? Get recognition from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). The USA Esports Alliance figured it would take 30 years, during which time they would create standardized safety protocols, training regulations, and work closely with esports athletes. Would esports be taken seriously in the United States once again?
USA Esports Will Participate in Esports Nations Cup, Starting Debate in Esports Community
Hope for the USA Esports Alliance was dashed when the organization announced it would participate in the upcoming Esports Nations Cup. USA Esports claimed that this was a “significant milestone” for international esports competition with hopes of building a sustainable and “inclusive” future for American gamers.
“As a public charity, USA Esports recognizes its responsibility to serve as a steward for competitive gamers across the entire United States,” said Jesse Bodony, USA Esports President and CEO. “Through the Esports Nations Cup, the United States can be at the table, alongside many other nations, helping define what international esports looks like now and for years to come.”
Unfortunately, this decision largely created backlash within the esports community. Many immediately believed that USA Esports likely got its funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund or another company from the country.
There has been significant backlash against Saudi Arabia within the esports community over the past few years. Ever since the Esports World Cup, it has felt like the country has thrown massive amounts of money around in an attempt to get esports organizations involved, purchase tournaments and events, and basically take control of the struggling esports industry as a whole. It’s been called “esports washing,” with gamers believing the country is using esports to change how other countries view them and maybe even to forget about things they were critical of.
“This was always part of the plan, by the way. The industry has collectively normalized sportswashing to future generations of competitors in the name of ”progress.’ Moving forward all I ask is, before you get excited and ask how you can be involved, just know the ‘values’ you’re endorsing,” ranted one skeptic.
However, esports is struggling. A lot. With esports organizations running in the red and tournament organizers relying on crowdfunding, the industry may benefit from the wads of cash Saudi Arabia is throwing at it.
Countered another esports fan: “Like it or not, ENC is here for at least one event if not more, and if their creation has caused the endemic folks around the world to now care more about overall systems within their countries, that is great. People also tend to forget the Olympics and the IOC ARE coming to esports in some form, being ready to represent for that, to me, is far more important than the ENC event.”
Some esports pros have also begun reacting to the ongoing backlash against Saudi Arabia. While there are some questionable politics over there, there are also questionable politics in the United States and other countries. It starts to feel a bit performative to hate on just one country for hate crimes that are found in other countries as well.
Right now, some esports fans are wondering why there are big esports events being held in the United States. The announcement that Worlds would be held in New York raised concerns among some fans about their safety amid America’s increasingly hostile political climate. The presence of ICE at events and in airports has many fans wondering if competitors should even go to the country – if they can even get visas to begin with.