Emmy-Winning Director R.J. Cutler's Docuseries Esports World Cup: Level Up Premieres June 6 on Prime Video

Associated Press

4 days ago

Groundbreaking Five-Part Series Chronicles the Inaugural Esports World Cup and the Intense Competition for a Record-Breaking $60 Million Prize Pool, Offering a High-Stakes, Character-Driven Look Inside the Future of Esports
LOS ANGELES, May 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Prime Video, one of the leading entertainment destinations, will premiere the five-part documentary Esports World Cup: Level Up on June 6, with new episodes released weekly. Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler (Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry, Elton John: Never Too Late and Martha), the series goes behind-the-scenes of the inaugural Esports World Cup (EWC) in 2024 — a defining moment in global esports, where over $60 million in prize money ignited a high-stakes, multinational battle to crown the world's top esports Club.
The series is produced by This Machine (a part of Sony Pictures Television), with R.J. Cutler directing, John Dorsey serving as showrunner, and Jane Cha Cutler, Trevor Smith, Elise Pearlstein and Mark Blatty executive producing. Level Up will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Esports World Cup: Level Up offers a rare look inside a global competition that's redefining what it means to be a champion for a new generation of athletes and fans. R.J. Cutler and his team of expert storytellers embedded themselves within the eight-week tournament – watched by over 500 million fans globally – to uncover the personal sacrifices, rivalries and stakes driving the action.
Shot in verité style, the series combines intimate home visits from around the world and on-the-ground coverage from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It follows a wide cast of characters – from Club CEOs orchestrating million-dollar strategies to rising stars chasing life-changing wins – while capturing the pulse of elite esports competition.
'What drew me to the Esports World Cup was the compelling human stories unfolding within this high-stakes arena,' said Cutler. 'Level Up isn't just about the incredible competition and prize money; it's about the dedication, the passion, and the sheer will of these athletes and teams pushing the boundaries of what's possible. Under high pressure, we discover the true character of the competitors who vie for $60 million, but who also expose their humanity in the process.'
At the heart of Level Up is the 'EWC Club Championship,' an unprecedented, multi-title tournament format where Clubs compete across more than 20 games, earning points toward a single leaderboard. Every match, every point, reshapes the race for global dominance. With the highest prize pool in esports history on the line, the EWC is not just a tournament – it's a proving ground for the next generation of sports icons.
'A win might make the headlines — but the real story is the people behind it,' said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation. 'Level Up dives into the human side of esports: the pressure, the ambition, the sacrifices. It's about what it really takes to compete at the highest level — and why it matters. R.J. is the best at bringing those stories to life, and this one captures the heart of what we're building.'
Standout stories from the series include:
The inaugural Esports World Cup in 2024 featured 1,500 elite players and 200 Clubs from 100 countries competing in 22 tournaments across 21 games for a $60 million prize pool, the largest in esports history.
Esports World Cup: Level Up will be available exclusively on Prime Video beginning June 6.
About The Esports World Cup
The Esports World Cup (EWC) is a premier annual sporting event and global celebration of competitive excellence and esports fandom. The competition features a unique cross-game format that pits the world's top esports Clubs against one another for the largest prize pool in esports history. Returning to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the summer of 2025, the EWC will bring gaming and esports communities together again to crown the next Esports World Cup Club Champion. esportsworldcup.com
About This Machine
This Machine (a part of Sony Pictures Television) was founded in 2020 and has quickly established itself as one of the premier producers of documentary film and television in the world. Headed by award-winning filmmaker and nonfiction pioneer R.J. Cutler, This Machine is a filmmaker-driven company that explores the times in which we live through nonfiction storytelling in all media.
Recent This Machine projects include the three-part documentary event Fight for Glory: 2024 World Series (Apple TV+) as well as the feature documentaries Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful (Netflix), Lee Soo Man: King Of K-Pop (Prime Video), Martha (Netflix) and Elton John: Never Too Late (Disney+). Other films and TV series include the PGA Award-nominated theatrical documentary The Disappearance of Shere Hite (IFC), the Emmy-winning documentary series Big Vape (Netflix), the HBO feature doc South to Black Power, the award-winning docuseries Murf the Surf (MGM), the celebrated history of women of color in the fashion industry, Supreme Models (Netflix) and the feature documentary Anthem (Hulu). This Machine is also behind the Academy Award-shortlisted Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry, the multi-award-winning BELUSHI, and the cult-hit Dear… (Apple TV).
This Machine's team includes Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning producer and executive Elise Pearlstein, Cutler's long-time producing partner Trevor Smith, EVP Mark Blatty, and the development team of Sally Rosen Phillips and Alisa Cacho-Sousa.
This Machine's team has decades of experience creating the highest-quality and most popular nonfiction films and series as well as scripted series, feature films, and podcasts.
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SOURCE Esports World Cup Foundation