GeoGuessr World Cup: A New Esports Sensation

Geography game GeoGuessr recently made its mark in the world of esports with its inaugural World Cup final. The event, held at Stockholm’s Space Arena, attracted thousands of viewers and showcased an intense best-of-five series between France’s Blinky and the Netherlands’ Consus.

Consus, known as the “Dutch Destroyer,” emerged victorious with a convincing 3-1 score, earning the title of world champion. However, the trophy awarded to him unfortunately broke just moments after his win.

The tournament featured 24 participants, each representing a different country. These players either received direct invitations or had to go through closed qualifiers to secure their spots. The event had a prize pool of $50,000 USD and was divided into four groups for the group stage matches on October 13.

While GeoGuessr may not be the first game that comes to mind when thinking of esports, the competition had viewers on the edge of their seats. The free-to-play browser game drops players into random locations around the world, challenging them to identify their whereabouts using visual cues. The closer they guess to the correct location, the more points they earn.

In the classic version of the game, players can move around and explore their surroundings to gather clues. In competitive GeoGuessr, this is called “Move.” Other variants, such as “No Move” and “No Move, Pan or Zoom,” limit the player’s movement to increase the difficulty. The tournament matches followed a best-of-three format, with each match played in different variants.

All matches consisted of ten rounds, with players starting with 6000 health. The goal was to get closer to the location than the opponent to chip away at their health. Damage multipliers increased each round, and there was no chance for health regeneration. Players had one minute to explore their surroundings and 15 seconds to make their guess.

GeoGuessr has gained popularity on platforms like Twitch, attracting over 11 million viewers in 2022. It has also inspired unofficial spin-offs for games like Fortnite and Genshin Impact. The game has been taken seriously in the speedrunning community, with players optimizing their performance in various categories.

This venture into esports is a significant milestone for GeoGuessr. The live audience at the World Cup final, along with experienced commentators like Trevor Rainbolt, added to the excitement. While an unofficial GeoGuessr Team World Cup took place last year, this formal esports event marks a new chapter for the game since its launch in 2013.

The founders of GeoGuessr expressed their gratitude for the game’s growth, acknowledging that it started as a hobby project among friends. They are excited about the future and hope that the World Cup is just the beginning of many more to come.