The announcement was originally made during the 11th world championships in Seoul, South Korea, and was uploaded to the IESF YouTube channel.With a grand prize ranging in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the tournament will see 500 gamers from 60 countries around the world competing in various competitive e-sport games such as multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) title DOTA 2 and the popular fighting game Tekken 7, the latter of which is considered to be one of the most popular competitive e-sport titles in Israel.
Eilat being chosen as the host of the 12th world championship was a closely-guarded secret for months, Ido Brosh – chairman of the Israel e-Sports Association (IESA), a nonprofit organization and IESF member, which works with the Culture and Sports Ministry to promote and grow e-sports in Israel – told ynet.Brosh, who was recently elected to the board of the IESF, announced on the IESA's English-language LinkedIn page that the tournament is being hosted in partnership with the Eilat Municipality, the Israeli government and Maccabi World Union.However, it appears that not all IESA member-countries will be able to participate."Some competitors from Iran and Indonesia... expressed their disappointment with the announcement, since they naturally won't be able to compete," Brosh told ynet.The problem isn't on Israel's end, though, with Brosh explaining that the Prime Minister's Office has stated that it will allow any e-sport competitors to enter regardless of nationality.Based in South Korea, the IESF spans dozens of nations across the world and has become one of the world's largest e-sport organizations. Its world championships are considered among the most prestigious of its kind and are watched by over 200 million people worldwide.