2025 Esports World Cup

Expanding the Game Lineup

The 2025 tournament saw significant expansion with the debut of several new competitive titles. A major multi-year partnership with Chess.com, announced in December 2024, brought online chess into the fold. This event featured a $1.5 million prize pool, with players qualifying through the Champions Chess Tour 2025, which consisted of two online Tour events. An open last-chance qualifier was also scheduled during the EWC itself to fill remaining tournament slots. This high-profile addition led notable chess figures to sign with esports organizations, including Magnus Carlsen with Team Liquid, Hikaru Nakamura with Team Falcons, and Ian Nepomniachtchi with Aurora Gaming. Carlsen was named the event's chess ambassador on the same day the partnership was revealed.

Other new additions included the tactical first-person shooter Crossfire, announced in December 2024, and the fighting game Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, added in February 2025 as part of a three-year partnership with SNK Corporation. SNK's CEO called the deal a historic milestone for the 30-year-old franchise. In February, Riot Games announced a new three-year partnership with the EWCF, adding its tactical hero shooter Valorant to the EWC lineup alongside returning titles League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics. Due to annual release schedules, the Call of Duty and EA Sports FC series were represented by their newest entries, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and EA Sports FC 25, with EA later announcing its FC Pro World Championship would be hosted at the EWC.

The battle royale game Naraka: Bladepoint was announced in May 2025 as a non-Club Championship title, a status similar to the previous year's Strinova event. Another title, GeoGuessr, was announced under the same non-championship status in May, planning to use the EWC to hold a Wildcard tournament for its World Cup. However, GeoGuessr withdrew its participation just a week later in response to community backlash over Saudi Arabia's human rights record. Games from the 2024 event that did not return included Fortnite and Strinova, while Garena Free Fire and Rainbow Six Siege returned as Free Fire and Rainbow Six Siege X.

The Club Championship and Partner Program

A central feature of the Esports World Cup was the cross-game Club Championship, which distributed $27 million to the top 24 performing organizations, referred to as clubs by the EWC. To qualify for a share of this money, a club needed to finish in the top eight in at least two different game competitions. To win the overall Club Championship title, a club also had to secure first place in at least one individual game championship.

Player eligibility for earning points for their club was strictly controlled. Participants had to be publicly announced as part of their respective organization before 15 May 2025 for most games. For Apex Legends and EA Sports FC 25, the deadline was extended to 31 May 2025. Points were then awarded based on a club's placement in each individual game championship.

Supporting this ecosystem was the expanded Club Partner Program, formerly known as the Club Support Program. This initiative provided substantial annual financial assistance to selected esports organizations to enhance their operations and create more opportunities for players. For 2025, the program was expanded to cover 40 organizations, an increase of ten from the previous year. These 40 teams represented five major competitive regions: Europe, North America, Asia, South America, and the Middle East, with the majority being primarily based in Europe or Asia. Notably, several teams from the 2024 Club Support Program, including TSM, OG, and Blacklist International, did not make the list for the 2025 Club Partner Program.

Prize Money and Tournament Calendar

The 2025 Esports World Cup offered the largest combined prize pool in esports history at $71.5 million, surpassing the previous year's record of $62.5 million. This massive sum was allocated across four distinct categories. The Club Championship accounted for $27 million, awarded to the top clubs based on their overall cross-game performance.

The individual Game Championships for the 24 titles that counted towards the club standings shared a combined $38 million. An additional $5 million was distributed to teams during the various qualifying events held worldwide. Finally, $500,000 was set aside for MVP awards to recognize standout individual performances throughout the tournament.

The official calendar for the seven-week event was unveiled on 15 April 2025, shortened from the eight-week schedule of the inaugural tournament. The initial announcement covered 25 esports across 26 events, with Naraka: Bladepoint added to the schedule on 15 May 2025.

Controversy and Player Boycotts

The tournament continued to face significant criticism and accusations of sportswashing, referring to the use of sport to improve Saudi Arabia's international reputation amidst concerns over its human rights record. This controversy directly impacted partnerships and player participation. Riot Games, upon announcing its new partnership, acknowledged that some might not feel great about the decision and stated they respected that view.

In March 2025, professional Street Fighter 6 player Christopher 'ChrisCCH' Hancock declined his qualified spot, which he earned via the SFL World Championship. He cited how the EWC was funded and managed by Saudi Arabia as his reason. Hancock also noted that the Capcom Pro Tour's integration with the EWC meant that choosing not to participate in any EWC qualifiers would be equivalent to retiring from competing in Street Fighter 6. He had refused to participate in previous Gamers8 and EWC tournaments as well.

Further boycotts occurred in June. A professional Apex Legends player known as Hambino, representing Team Orchid, announced they would not attend, stating they did not feel comfortable playing in a country with laws they described as allowing for queer people to be murdered. A substitute player was selected to take Hambino's place and agreed to share any tournament earnings with them. Hambino stated their portion of the earnings would be donated to support queer members in the community. The game GeoGuessr also announced and then withdrew its planned Wildcard tournament from the event in May 2025 following community backlash over the host nation's human rights record.

High-Profile Ambassadors and Event Profile

The event leveraged high-profile ambassadors to boost its global profile. Following the inclusion of online chess, world champion Magnus Carlsen was announced as the EWC's chess ambassador on 18 December 2024. In a major crossover move, Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was announced as a global ambassador for the event on 13 June 2025, lending his star power to the tournament's international marketing.

The Esports World Cup Foundation, the nonprofit organization running the event, is funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The 2025 edition was the second annual tournament under this foundation. The structure of the event, with its focus on a cross-game club competition and large, guaranteed prize pools, continued to position it as a financially dominant fixture on the global esports calendar, despite the ongoing controversies surrounding its location and funding.