As of late, Saudi Arabia has been making a concerted effort to establish itself as the esports capital of the world—an effort that might just be paying off given the success of the inaugural Esports World Cup and the truly staggering budget poured into it.
Some think the deference shown in the face of all that Saudi money might be going a bit far, however. Twitch superstar xQc was one of many streamers who co-streamed the Esports World Cup, with a disclaimer in the stream title disclosing that he was paid to do so as a means to get more eyes on the burgeoning event. Even if he hadn’t been so upfront about being sponsored, however, fans might have been able to guess from one moment in particular.
At the start of the EWC’s closing ceremony yesterday, xQc physically got up from his gaming chair to stand for the Saudi Arabian national anthem that heralds the Crown Prince’s entrance, going so far as to put his hand over his heart in a gesture of patriotism (or wanting to please the person signing his checks) that trumped many of the displays shown by actual Saudis in Saudi Arabia for the event.
A clip of this show of respect, which seems like quite a change from the streamer’s famously listless reactions, quickly went viral on both Twitch itself and Reddit, where fans and detractors alike chimed in. One commenter called out what they saw as xQc humiliating himself for money as “extremely disappointing,” a sentiment that the thread seemed to agree with. The top comment is just onomatopoeia for fellatio that I’m not sure I can reproduce here in good taste.
Saudi Arabia’s alleged human rights violations and draconian laws also faced much criticism from those in the thread, who argued for the immorality of accepting money from its government. One particular commenter, however, suggested the thread exhibited a double standard and that better-regarded streamers like Shroud might not have experienced the same backlash. The jury is still out on that, though there’s a good amount of personal disdain for xQc mixed into the discussion as well. This money, after all, will likely go toward more expensive watches for him to flex on stream.
Possibly as a result of xQc’s tireless efforts, however, the Esports World Cup will return in 2025.
