Group stage
The Esports World Cup is a tournament series for online and esports games, first held in 2022 under the name Gamers8. The tournaments take place in July and August in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This year, chess is included in the tournament programme for the first time. The partner platform is chess.com.
The Chess Esports World Cup now serves as the final tournament of the Champions Chess Tour. The prize fund amounts to USD 1.5 million, with USD 250,000 reserved for the winner. The remaining participants receive at least USD 50,000 (places 13–16).
In addition to the individual competition, the results also contribute to a team ranking across all esports disciplines.
Schedule, group allocation, live games
Group A
29 July 2025 – 14:00 CEST
Upper bracket semifinals
Andrey Esipenko v. Ian Nepomniachtchi
Vladislav Artemiev v. Levon Aronian
29 July 2025 – 19:20 CEST
Upper bracket final
30 July 2025 – 14:00 CEST
Lower bracket semifinals
30 July 2025 – 15:20 CEST
Lower bracket final
Group B
29 July 2025 – 15:20 CEST
Upper bracket semifinals
Anish Giri v. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Nihal Sarin v. Arjun Erigaisi
30 July 2025 – 14:00 CEST
Lower bracket semifinals
30 July 2025 – 15:20 CEST
Upper bracket final – TBD
30 July 2025 – 19:20 CEST
Lower bracket final
Group C
29 July 2025 – 16:40 CEST
Upper bracket semifinals
Javokhir Sindarov v. Hikaru Nakamura
Alireza Firouzja v. Wei Yi
29 July 2025 – 20:40 CEST
Upper bracket final
30 July 2025 – 16:40 CEST
Lower bracket semifinals
30 July 2025 – 19:20 CEST
Lower bracket final
Group D
29 July 2025 – 18:00 CEST
Upper bracket semi-finals
Nodirbek Abdusattorov v. Magnus Carlsen
Jan-Krzysztof Duda v. Fabiano Caruana
29 July 2025 – 20:40 CEST
Upper bracket final
30 July 2025 – 18:00 CEST
Lower bracket semi-finals
30 July 2025 – 20:40 CEST
Lower bracket final
Commentary by the ChessBase India team
Format
Phase 1
4 groups of 4 players – GSL format
Time control: 10 minutes, no increments
Armageddon as tiebreak
2 games per match
Phase 2
Knockout stage
Time control: 10 minutes, no increments
Armageddon as tiebreak
Round of 8: 4 games per match
Semifinals: 6 games per match
Grand Final: Best of 3 sets
The first two sets consist of 4 games.
If necessary, the final set consists of 2 games.
Players and teams
2025 CCT Points Qualification (11)
Alireza Firouzja [Team Falcons]
Arjun Erigaisi [Gen.G Esports]
Fabiano Caruana [Team Liquid]
Hikaru Nakamura [Team Falcons]
Ian Nepomniachtchi [Aurora Gaming]
Jan-Krzysztof Duda [Twisted Minds]
Magnus Carlsen [Team Liquid]
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave [Team Vitality]
Nodirbek Abdusattorov [Natus Vincere]
Vladimir Fedoseev (unable to participate, replaced by Andrey Esipenko)
Vladislav Artemiev [Team Spirit]
Wei Yi [Weibo Gaming]
EWC Last Chance Qualifier (5)
Andrey Esipenko [Virtus.pro]
Anish Giri [Team Secret]
Javokhir Sindarov [Team Vitality]
Levon Aronian [REJECT]
Nihal Sarin [S8UL Esports]
