Team Liquid prepares for the Saudi contest

The second Esports World Cup (EWC) has begun in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Over the next seven weeks, teams from around the world will compete across 25 games including Call of Duty, League of Legends and EA Sports FC (EA FC).

Up for grabs is a share of $70m (£50m).

There are prizes for individuals and teams but, despite the tournament’s name, players don’t compete for their countries.

Most are members of organisations such as Team Liquid, one of the world’s biggest esports squads.

BBC Newsbeat went behind the scenes at their HQ to find out why the EWC is so important to them, and why they feel they can’t ignore the controversial contest.

Located in Utrecht in the Netherlands, Team Liquid’s base is part office, part video game arcade and part luxury student accommodation.

There are two rooms where team-mates can compete head-to-head or online, and streaming booths where they can broadcast live to followers on Twitch.

Many of Liquid’s top players live and train in the building, where an on-site chef provides three meals a day, all of them designed to boost concentration and reaction times.

When play is work and work is play it’s important to distinguish between the two, and members tell Newsbeat they spend about eight hours a day training in the run-up to major competitions.

One of those is Levi de Weerd.

Like many others he got into EA FC (formerly known as Fifa) as a child.

Now aged 21, he’s made playing against the best against the world into a career.

He says being part of Team Liquid gets him access to the high-spec facilities and experienced coaches.

“We have a gameplay coach, we’re analysing games from tournaments in the past and in friendly games where we try things out. We have performance coaches and mental coaches too,” he says.

Being in one place, he says, is more important than you might think.

“I think it’s important to have a good environment with coaches, with players and staff to get a good chemistry”, he says.

Because EWC competitors don’t represent their countries, teams are able to bring in talent from around the world.

YanYa, part of Team Liquid’s Apex Legends squad, joined from his home country of Mexico.

He says the EWC is “the best feeling in the world because you are playing the best players”.

“You get a lot of excitement. You get a lot of adrenaline,” he says.

Team Liquid are looking to one-up their performance last year, when they finished second overall behind Saudi side Team Falcons.

YanYa insists that doesn’t affect him, though.

“I don’t feel pressure, I feel confident,” he says. “We’ve been practising a lot.”

Individual performance is a key part of the EWC and there are big cash prizes for winning players.

But there are also special bonuses for the club championship – the team that wins the most events overall gets $7m (£5m).

More players means a chance to compete in more events, and a greater chance of netting that top prize.

Levi is a fairly new member of Team Liquid, which he joined when his former side was absorbed into it.

Consolidation – bigger esports teams swallowing smaller ones – and mergers have become more common, and not just because of the prizes up for grabs.

Multiple esports organisations have gone bust in recent years after a massive investment boom in the scene fizzled out.

Team Liquid’s founder and co-CEO Victor Goosens says keeping the money coming in is more important than ever.

While prize money isn’t everything, Victor says the EWC is financially important for Team Liquid.

“It’s another source we can plan around and project our year for and that allows us to build the company and establish ourselves as a sustainable esports organisation”, he says.

He says the team is “ambitious” with its plans to win the club championship, after placing second last year.

Victor admits it’s necessary to compete in as many events as possible in order to take the top spot, but that “it’s not worth expanding if your core rosters aren’t already great”.

You need to attract the best talent.

So when online chess was added as an event at this year’s Esports World Cup, Team Liquid signed up the world’s top chess grandmasters Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana.

Some esports fans have been critical of teams taking part in an event hosted, and largely funded, by Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom has been accused of numerous human rights violations and has strict laws restricting what women can do.

Like other Middle East states it’s been heavily criticised for its anti-LGBT laws – homosexuality is punishable by death.

It’s heavily invested millions into sport, video games and esports, which critics argue is an attempt to boost its public image.

There has been backlash.

Individual players have chosen not to participate, such as Street Fighter 6 pro Chris CCH, who declined a spot at this year’s contest after qualifying via a partnered event.

But, given its ever-growing ties to esports, he admitted that avoiding any Saudi-linked contests altogether would have made it almost impossible for him to carry on competing.

Victor says it’s a “sensitive and tricky situation to navigate” for Team Liquid, which has publicly supported gay rights.

“We’ve been very outspoken that we believe in esports for all,” says Victor.

“So there’s a contradiction. But we believe that if we want to be around in five or ten years’ time we need to play at the EWC.”

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.