Draft:GeoGuessr World Cup 2023

{{Infobox tournament


 * name = GeoGuessr World Cup
 * image = File:GeoGuessr World Cup 2023 - Final - Consus v Blinky.jpg
 * caption = Final match between Consus and Blinky.
 * game = GeoGuessr
 * year    = 2023
 * location = Stockholm, Sweden
 * date = 13–14 October 2023 (main event) 19–26 August 2023 (qualification)
 * venue = Main event: SPACE Stockholm Qualifier: Online
 * broadcast = Twitch{{efn|official stream}}
 * participants = 24 (20 invitees + 4 from qualifiers)
 * purse = US$50,000
 * champion= {{flagicon|NED}} Consus
 * 2nd place = {{flagicon|FRA}} Blinky
 * 3rd place = {{ubl|{{flagicon|CAN}} Fungus|{{flagicon|ROU}} Radu}}
 * format={{hlist|Closed qualifier,{{efn|name=format1|Format used for pre-qualifier: {{abbr|Bo3|best of 3 games}} (NM, NMPZ, MOVE), 6000 points of health, 0.5x multiplier increment from round 4, unlimited round time, 15s timer, AIW{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}}}{{efn|name=format2|Format used for Qualifier: {{abbr|Bo3|best of 3 games}} (MOVE, NM, NMPZ) + {{abbr|Bo5|best of 5 games}} (MOVE, NM, MOVE, NM, NMPZ), 6000 points of health, 0.5x multiplier increment from round 5, unlimited round time, 15s timer, custom map }}|groups|intergroup knockout matches{{efn|name=format3|Format used on Day 1: {{abbr|Bo3|best of 3 games}} (MOVE, NM, NMPZ), 6000 points of health, 10 round limit, 0.5x multiplier increment from round 2, 60s round time, 15s timer, AOW {{citation needed|reason=map?|date=March 2024}}}}|single-elimination playoff{{efn|name=format4|Format used on Day 2: {{abbr|Bo3|best of 3 games}} (MOVE, NM, NMPZ) + {{abbr|Bo5|best of 5 games}} (MOVE, NM, MOVE, NM, NMPZ), 6000 points of health, 10 round limit, 0.5x multiplier increment from round 2, 60s round time, 15s timer, AOW }{{citation needed|reason=map?|date=March 2024}}}}}}
 * attendance = 70,000+ peak viewers
 * next = 2024
 * website= https://www.geoguessr.com/world-cup/2023
 * event1 = Pre-qualifier
 * event1_location = Online, Twitch
 * event1_dates = 19 August 2023
 * event1_matches = 12
 * event2 = Qualifier
 * event2_location = Online, Twitch
 * event2_dates = 26 August 2023
 * event2_matches = 24 + 8
 * event3 = Day 1
 * event3_location = Stockholm, Twitch
 * event3_dates = 13 October 2023
 * event3_matches = 64
 * event4 = Day 2
 * event4_location = SPACE Stockholm, Twitch
 * event4_dates = 14 October 2023
 * event4_matches = 4 + 3}}

The GeoGuessr World Cup 2023 was the inaugural GeoGuessr World Cup hosted by GeoGuessr. It took place 13–14 October 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden, the place of headquarters of GeoGuessr AB. 24 players from 21 different countries were competing for a prize-pool of $50,000. Consus, representing the Netherlands, was crowned World Champion after beating Frenchman Blinky in the final.

Format
The World Cup consisted of two stages, an online qualifying process and the main event over two consecutive days in Stockholm.

All matches were played with 1v1 Duels in either best of 3 or best of 5 games, consisting of Moving + NM (if necessary + NMPZ) or Moving + NM + Moving (if necessary + NM + NMPZ) games respectively, with 6000 points of health, 0.5x multiplier increment and a 15-second timer after a guess. The games in Stockholm had a ten-round limit, with multipliers increasing in 0.5x steps after round 1 from 1x to 5.5x.

Players
Apart from four players who qualified through the closed-qualifier, 20 players were invited directly by GeoGuessr. They were announced in multiple waves:

Qualifiers
There were two rounds of online qualification, a pre-qualifier and a main qualifier event.

Pre-qualifier
On 19 August 2023, popular Tik-Toker rainbolt hosted a pre-qualifier on his Twitch channel. DerZiggi and Kodiak joined him as commentators. 16 invitees were divided into four groups, the winner of each bracket advanced to the main qualifier. The mode played was Bo3 (NM, NMPZ, MOVE), 6000 points of health, 0.5x multiplier increment from round 4, unlimited round time, and 15s timer on the map "An Improved World".

Qualifier
The main qualifier event was hosted by e-sports veteran caster Pala "Pala" Gilroy Sen and rainbolt on 26 August, streamed on the official Twitch channel. It was divided into three stages. In Stage I, 12 invitees were joined by the four winners of the pre-qualifier being split equally into four round-robin groups of four. The winners of each group advanced to Stage III, the second and third placed had to win another game in Stage II to proceed. Stage III produced the four qualifiers for the main event.

Stage I was played with the same settings as the pre-qualifier, except the order of the game modes was changed (MOVE, NM, NMPZ), the multiplier increment kicked in on round 5, and a custom map was used. Stages II and II were Bo5.

Not all matches were broadcast; in fact, only 3/24 group stage matches, 1/4 knockout stage matches, and 3/4 playoff stage matches were.

Stage III (Playoffs)
On 12 September, GeoGuessr announced that Poli would not make it to Stockholm, and that he would be replaced by Lennli, against whom he had won his last game.

Day 1 (group and knockout stage)
The group stage was played on 13 October, with all players being present in Stockholm. The official Twitch channel broadcasted games of Groups A and D, while a second stream showed games of Groups B and C. In similar fashion to the main qualifier, the 24 participants were divided into four groups of six, playing one another in a round-robin, with the respective winners directly advancing to Day 2, while the second and third placed were matched up in a knockout stage to determine the last spots for the final day.

The format used was a Bo3, as in the qualifiers, but with a 10-round limit, the multiplier increment from round 2, and a 60s round time on the custom World Cup map "An Official World".

For every stream there were three matches played at the same time, one of which was being broadcast live.

Day 2
The final day was played in the SPACE Arena, Stockholm, in front of an audience on 14 October 2023. The format for the quarter-finals stayed exactly the same as it was for the games of the previous day; however, the semi-finals and the final were Bo5 (MOVE, NM, MOVE, NM, NMPZ).

The final was watched by over 71,000 viewers at the same time, the two semi-finals reached a peak viewership of over 45,000 and 56,000 respectively.