2025 Esports World Cup – Chess
Magnus Carlsen, the winner of the inaugural edition. | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Game | Chess |
| Location | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| Date | July 29 – Aug 1, 2025 |
| Administrator | Esports World Cup Foundation Chess.com |
Tournament format(s) | 16 player GSL-style group stage 8 player single-elimination bracket |
| Teams | 13 |
| Purse | US$1,500,000 |
| Website | esportsworldcup.com/chess |
| Final positions | |
| Champion | Magnus Carlsen (Team Liquid) |
| Runner-up | Alireza Firouzja (Team Falcons) |
The chess tournament at the 2025 Esports World Cup was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 29 to August 1, 2025. Sixteen players from thirteen teams took part in this tournament – 12 players from Champions Chess Tour 2025 standings and 4 players from the Last Chance Qualifier. 13 Teams qualified based on their player's performance in these tournaments.[1] Magnus Carlsen from Team Liquid defeated Alireza Firouzja from Team Falcons in the Grand final with 4 rounds to spare.[2]
It was the first chess tournament at the Esports World Cup, which is part of a three-year partnership between online gaming platform Chess.com and the Esports World Cup Foundation until 2027 to bring online chess into the event.[3]
Format
In the group stage, the sixteen players from thirteen (13) teams were divided into four groups and competed in a GSL-style double elimination bracket, with the first two teams to achieve two wins advancing to the quarterfinals. The opening matches are best-of-twos but the remaining matches are best-of-threes.
The playoffs were an eight-player single-elimination bracket. The teams that lose in the semifinals will compete in a third-place match.[4] All matches in the playoffs were best-of-threes but the final was a best-of-five.
Qualification
Twelve players qualified through their standings in the Champions Chess Tour 2025, and four from the Last Chance Qualifier.
Qualified teams
| Event | Qualifier |
|---|---|
| Champions Chess Tour 2025 | Magnus Carlsen (Team Liquid) |
| Hikaru Nakamura (Team Falcons) | |
| Ian Nepomniachtchi (Aurora Gaming) | |
| Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Team Vitality) | |
| Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Twisted Minds) | |
| Arjun Erigaisi (Gen.G Esports) | |
| Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Natus Vincere) | |
| Vladislav Artemiev (Team Spirit) | |
| Alireza Firouzja (Team Falcons) | |
| Fabiano Caruana (Team Liquid) | |
| Wei Yi (Weibo Gaming) | |
| Last Chance Qualifier | Javokhir Sindarov (Team Vitality) |
| Nihal Sarin (S8UL Esports) | |
| Levon Aronian (REJECT) | |
| Anish Giri (Team Secret) | |
| Andrey Esipenko (Virtus.pro) (highest non-qualifier, replacement for Fedoseev) |
Draw
Group stage
- Dates: 29–30 July 2025
- 16 players from thirteen teams were drawn into four groups of four players each.
- Each group plays a double-elimination-style bracket.
- The top two players from each group advance to the Playoffs. Remaining players are eliminated.
- Time control: 10+0
- In the Armageddon, the player who either wins or draws with the black pieces gets a full point and wins the match.
Group A
| Opening Match | Winners Match | Playoffs Qualified | |||||||||||
| 29 July, 15:00 AST | |||||||||||||
| A Esipenko (Virtus.pro) | 1.5 | ||||||||||||
| 29 July, 20:20 AST | |||||||||||||
| I Nepomniachtchi (Aurora Gaming) | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
| A Esipenko (Virtus.pro) | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 29 July, 15:00 AST | L Aronian (REJECT) | ||||||||||||
| L Aronian (REJECT) | 2 | ||||||||||||
| V Artemiev (Team Spirit) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| L Aronian (REJECT) | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Elimination Match | Decider Match | ||||||||||||
| 30 July, 16:20 AST | |||||||||||||
| 30 July, 15:00 AST | A Esipenko (Virtus.pro) | 1 | |||||||||||
| I Nepomniachtchi (Aurora Gaming) | |||||||||||||
| I Nepomniachtchi (Aurora Gaming) | 1.5 | I Nepomniachtchi (Aurora Gaming) | 2 | ||||||||||
| V Artemiev (Team Spirit) | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
| Opening Match | 29 July | Andrey Esipenko | 1.5 | – | 0.5 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 15:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0.5 | Game 1 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Opening Match | 29 July | Vladislav Artemiev | 1 | – | 2 | Levon Aronian | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 15:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0 | Game 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 2 | 0 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Armageddon | 0.5 | ||||||
| Winners' Match | 29 July | Levon Aronian | 2 | – | 0 | Andrey Esipenko | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 20:20 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 1 | Game 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Elimination Match | 30 July | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 1.5 | – | 0.5 | Vladislav Artemiev | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 15:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 1 | Game 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| Decider Match | 30 July | Andrey Esipenko | 1 | – | 2 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 16:20 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 1 | Game 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 2 | 1 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Armageddon | 0.5 | ||||||
Group B
| Opening Match | Winners Match | Playoffs Qualified | |||||||||||
| 29 July, 16:10 AST | |||||||||||||
| A Giri (Team Secret) | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
| 29 July, 20:20 AST | |||||||||||||
| M Vachier-Lagrave (Team Vitality) | 1.5 | ||||||||||||
| M Vachier-Lagrave (Team Vitality) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 29 July, 16:10 AST | A Erigaisi (Gen.G Esports) | ||||||||||||
| A Erigaisi (Gen.G Esports) | 2 | ||||||||||||
| N Sarin (S8UL Esports) | 0 | ||||||||||||
| A Erigaisi (Gen.G Esports) | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Elimination Match | Decider Match | ||||||||||||
| 30 July, 16:20 AST | |||||||||||||
| 30 July, 15:00 AST | M Vachier-Lagrave (Team Vitality) | 0.5 | |||||||||||
| N Sarin (S8UL Esports) | |||||||||||||
| A Giri (Team Secret) | 0 | N Sarin (S8UL Esports) | 1.5 | ||||||||||
| N Sarin (S8UL Esports) | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Opening Match | 29 July | Anish Giri | 0.5 | – | 1.5 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 16:10 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0 | Game 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| Opening Match | 29 July | Nihal Sarin | 0 | – | 2 | Arjun Erigaisi | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 16:10 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0 | Game 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Winners' Match | 29 July | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 1 | – | 2 | Arjun Erigaisi | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 20:20 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0 | Game 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 2 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | Armageddon | 1 | ||||||
| Elimination Match | 30 July | Anish Giri | 0 | – | 2 | Nihal Sarin | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 15:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0 | Game 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Decider Match | 30 July | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 0.5 | – | 1.5 | Nihal Sarin | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 16:20 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0.5 | Game 1 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 2 | 1 | ||||||
Group C
| Opening Match | Winners Match | Playoffs Qualified | |||||||||||
| 29 July, 17:40 AST | |||||||||||||
| J Sindarov (Team Vitality) | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 29 July, 21:40 AST | |||||||||||||
| H Nakamura (Team Falcons) | 2 | ||||||||||||
| H Nakamura (Team Falcons) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 29 July, 17:40 AST | A Firouzja (Team Falcons) | ||||||||||||
| A Firouzja (Team Falcons) | 2 | ||||||||||||
| A Firouzja (Team Falcons) | 1.5 | ||||||||||||
| Y Wei (Weibo Gaming) | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
| Elimination Match | Decider Match | ||||||||||||
| 30 July, 20:20 AST | |||||||||||||
| 30 July, 17:40 AST | H Nakamura (Team Falcons) | 2 | |||||||||||
| H Nakamura (Team Falcons) | |||||||||||||
| J Sindarov (Team Vitality) | 0 | Y Wei (Weibo Gaming) | 1 | ||||||||||
| Y Wei (Weibo Gaming) | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Opening Match | 29 July | Javokhir Sindarov | 0 | – | 2 | Hikaru Nakamura | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 17:40 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0 | Game 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Opening Match | 29 July | Alireza Firouzja | 1.5 | – | 0.5 | Wei Yi | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 17:40 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 1 | Game 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| Winners' Match | 29 July | Hikaru Nakamura | 1 | – | 2 | Alireza Firouzja | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 21:40 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0.5 | Game 1 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Armageddon | 0.5 | ||||||
| Elimination Match | 30 July | Javokhir Sindarov | 0 | – | 2 | Wei Yi | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 17:40 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0 | Game 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 2 | 1 | ||||||
| Decider Match | 30 July | Hikaru Nakamura | 2 | – | 1 | Wei Yi | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 20:20 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0.5 | Game 1 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 1 | Armageddon | 0 | ||||||
Group D
| Opening Match | Winners Match | Playoffs Qualified | |||||||||||
| 29 July, 19:00 AST | |||||||||||||
| N Abdusattorov (Natus Vincere) | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
| 29 July, 21:40 AST | |||||||||||||
| M Carlsen (Team Liquid) | 1.5 | ||||||||||||
| M Carlsen (Team Liquid) | 1.5 | ||||||||||||
| 29 July, 19:00 AST | M Carlsen (Team Liquid) | ||||||||||||
| J-K Duda (Twisted Minds) | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
| J-K Duda (Twisted Minds) | 1.5 | ||||||||||||
| F Caruana (Team Liquid) | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
| Elimination Match | Decider Match | ||||||||||||
| 30 July, 21:40 AST | |||||||||||||
| 30 July, 19:00 AST | J-K Duda (Twisted Minds) | 1 | |||||||||||
| N Abdusattorov (Natus Vincere) | |||||||||||||
| N Abdusattorov (Natus Vincere) | 2 | N Abdusattorov (Natus Vincere) | 2 | ||||||||||
| F Caruana (Team Liquid) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Opening Match | 29 July | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 0.5 | – | 1.5 | Magnus Carlsen | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 19:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0 | Game 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| Opening Match | 29 July | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 1.5 | – | 0.5 | Fabiano Caruana | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 19:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0.5 | Game 1 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Winners' Match | 29 July | Magnus Carlsen | 1.5 | – | 0.5 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 21:40 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 1 | Game 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| Elimination Match | 30 July | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 2 | – | 1 | Fabiano Caruana | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 19:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 1 | Game 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 2 | 1 | ||||||
| 1 | Armageddon | 0 | ||||||
| Decider Match | 31 July | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 1 | – | 2 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 21:40 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0.5 | Game 1 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 0 | Armageddon | 1 | ||||||
Playoffs
- Dates: 31 July – 1 August 2025
- Eight players will be drawn into matchups based on a draw.
- Time control: 10+0
- In the Armageddon, the player who either wins or draws with the black pieces gets a full point and wins the match.
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |||||||||||
| 31 July, 15:00 AST | |||||||||||||
| Alireza Firouzja (Team Falcons) | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 31 July, 19:00 AST | |||||||||||||
| Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Natus Vincere) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Alireza Firouzja (Team Falcons) | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 31 July, 15:00 AST | |||||||||||||
| Arjun Erigaisi (Gen.G Esports) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Ian Nepomniachtchi (Aurora Gaming) | 1.5 | ||||||||||||
| 1 August, 19:00 AST | |||||||||||||
| Arjun Erigaisi (Gen.G Esports) | 2.5 | ||||||||||||
| Alireza Firouzja (Team Falcons) | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 31 July, 17:00 AST | |||||||||||||
| Magnus Carlsen (Team Liquid) | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Levon Aronian (REJECT) | 1.5 | ||||||||||||
| 31 July, 21:40 AST | |||||||||||||
| Hikaru Nakamura (Team Falcons) | 2.5 | ||||||||||||
| Hikaru Nakamura (Team Falcons) | 3 | Third place | |||||||||||
| 31 July, 17:00 AST | |||||||||||||
| Magnus Carlsen (Team Liquid) | 4 | 1 August, 16:00 AST | |||||||||||
| Magnus Carlsen (Team Liquid) | 2.5 | ||||||||||||
| Arjun Erigaisi (Gen.G Esports) | 2.5 | ||||||||||||
| Nihal Sarin (S8UL Esports) | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
| Hikaru Nakamura (Team Falcons) | 3.5 | ||||||||||||
| Quarterfinals | 31 July | Alireza Firouzja | 3 | – | 1 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 15:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0.5 | Game 1 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 3 | 0 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 4 | 0 | ||||||
| Quarterfinals | 31 July | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 1.5 | – | 2.5 | Arjun Erigaisi | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 15:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0.5 | Game 1 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 2 | 1 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 3 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 4 | 1 | ||||||
| Quarterfinals | 31 July | Levon Aronian | 1.5 | – | 2.5 | Hikaru Nakamura | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 17:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0.5 | Game 1 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 2 | 1 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 3 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 4 | 1 | ||||||
| Quarterfinals | 31 July | Magnus Carlsen | 2.5 | – | 0.5 | Nihal Sarin | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 17:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0.5 | Game 1 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 2 | 0 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 3 | 0 | ||||||
| Semifinals | 31 July | Alireza Firouzja | 4 | – | 1 | Arjun Erigaisi | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 19:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 1 | Game 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 3 | 0 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 4 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 5 | 0 | ||||||
| Semifinals | 31 July | Hikaru Nakamura | 3 | – | 4 | Magnus Carlsen | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 21:40 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0 | Game 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 3 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 4 | 1 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 5 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 6 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | Armageddon | 1 | ||||||
| Third Place Playoff | 1 August | Arjun Erigaisi | 2.5 | – | 3.5 | Hikaru Nakamura | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 16:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 1 | Game 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 3 | 1 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 4 | 1 | ||||||
| 1 | Game 5 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 6 | 1 | ||||||
| Grand Final | 1 August | Alireza Firouzja | 0 | – | 2 | Magnus Carlsen | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 19:00 (UTC+3) | ||||||||
| 0 | (Set 1) Game 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 2 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 0.5 | Game 3 | 0.5 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 4 | 1 | ||||||
| 1 | (Set 2) Game 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 2 | 1 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 3 | 1 | ||||||
| 0 | Game 4 | 1 | ||||||
Ranking
A base prize pool of US$1,500,000 had been offered for the tournament. The prize pool was spread among the players as seen below:
| Place | Team | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Magnus Carlsen (Team Liquid) | $250,000 |
| 2nd | Alireza Firouzja (Team Falcons) | $190,000 |
| 3rd | Hikaru Nakamura (Team Falcons) | $145,000 |
| 4th | Arjun Erigaisi (Gen.G Esports) | $115,000 |
| 5th–8th | Ian Nepomniachtchi (Aurora Gaming) | $90,000 |
| Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Natus Vincere) | ||
| Levon Aronian (REJECT) | ||
| Nihal Sarin (S8UL Esports) | ||
| 9th–12th | Andrey Esipenko (Virtus.pro) | $65,000 |
| Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Team Vitality) | ||
| Wei Yi (Weibo Gaming) | ||
| Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Twisted Minds) | ||
| 13th–16th | Vladislav Artemiev (Team Spirit) | $50,000 |
| Anish Giri (Team Secret) | ||
| Javokhir Sindarov (Team Vitality) | ||
| Fabiano Caruana (Team Liquid) |
External links
References
- ^ "Chess at EWC25". Retrieved July 29, 2025.
- ^ "Chess at EWC 25 Champion: Carlsen Crushes Firouzja". esportsworldcup.com. July 23, 2025. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
- ^ Šimić, Ivan (December 18, 2024). "Chess joins Esports World Cup 2025, Magnus Carlsen appointed as ambassador". Esports Insider. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
- ^ Phalip, Corentin (July 7, 2025). "Chess: Everything You Need to Know About the Esports World Cup". Sheep Esports. Retrieved July 12, 2025.