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The Esports World Cup 2025 has wrapped up after eight weeks of top-tier competition, and no organisation came out bigger than Saudi Arabia’s own Team Falcons. Playing on home soil in Riyadh, the Falcons locked in first place in the Club Championship, collecting a staggering $7 million prize and stamping their mark across the esports landscape.

Their run was nothing short of overwhelming. Falcons competed in 21 of the 25 events this year, finishing at the top of the leaderboards in Free Fire and Call of Duty: Warzone, with Tekken 8 star Atif “ATIF” Ijaz also turning heads. Add in strong results across Rocket League, Apex Legends, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and the Falcons left rivals like Team Liquid in the dust.

“They bought every team”

While the trophy shines brightly in Riyadh, the reaction online has been far more mixed. Many fans accused Falcons of winning by default, pointing out that they’ve bought into almost every esport on the EWC stage.

“125 rosters and stress until the end, let’s realise the almost pathetic performance,” one user wrote, while another posted the now-viral line:

“We bought a team in every esport that not every org has, so we win by default.”

The perception that Falcons simply spent their way to the top has become the defining talking point of this year’s EWC. For some, it’s proof of Saudi Arabia’s growing power in the esports world. For others, it’s the very definition of pay-to-win.

The NPC fan debate

Adding to the firestorm was a viral clip from Team Spirit’s CS2 captain Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov, who joked that Falcons’ supporters were just “300 hired workers” told to chant in the stands.

What might have been throwaway banter quickly blew up. Falcons fans, especially in the Arab community, saw it as a serious insult, and chopper’s socials were flooded with backlash. Event staff even asked him to delete the video, and reports claim he may need private security while in Riyadh.

Meanwhile, esports Twitter had a field day, with memes comparing Falcons’ fan section to NPC crowds from EA Sports FC.

Overshadowing the players

Another sore point among fans was the lack of recognition for individual champions. While Falcons as an organisation grabbed the headlines, players like the Street Fighter champion who battled his way to victory barely got mentioned.

It’s a reminder that behind the Falcons brand, real players are grinding, competing, and putting in the work, something the pay-to-win narrative can sometimes overshadow.

Pride at home, scepticism abroad

Still, for Falcons and their CEO Mossad “Msdossary” Al-Dossary, the Club Championship means more than outside criticism. After clinching the title, he said through tears:

“We promised ourselves that we wanted this trophy to stay at home. Now, finally, we can say it’s home. This is for all the Saudi people. It remains in Saudi.”

That emotional moment highlights the divide: inside Riyadh, Falcons are heroes bringing pride to the region. Outside of it, many still see them as proof that money can buy trophies.

The bigger picture

With two EWC Club Championships in a row and an unrivalled presence across nearly every esport, Team Falcons aren’t going anywhere. Whether you see them as trailblazers or just the ultimate pay-to-win org, they’ve changed the way the esports world looks at competition.

The real question now: will other organisations follow their model, or will the backlash eventually force a rethink on how esports’ biggest prizes are decided?