Magnus Carlsen Crowned Champion at the First-Ever Chess Esports World Cup in Riyadh.
Awards
On 1 August 2025, Norwegian Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen clinched the inaugural Chess Esports World Cup title held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, defeating France’s Alireza Firouzja in straight sets. The event, part of the Esports World Cup franchise, featured a US $1.5 million prize pool, with Carlsen earning US $250,000.
- Carlsen’s win inaugurated chess as a premier esports discipline at the 2025 Esports World Cup, managed by the Esports World Cup Foundation. The 16-player event—which qualified participants via the Champions Chess Tour—was held from 29 July to 1 August 2025 on the Chess.com platform, drawing global attention to the evolution of digital chess competition
- In the Grand Final, Carlsen (representing Team Liquid) decisively beat Firouzja of Team Falcons, winning two consecutive best-of-three sets, each by a 3–1 score. Team Liquid gained the edge in the overall Club Championship standings with this victory .
Main Point :- (i) Earlier in the tournament, Hikaru Nakamura reached the semifinals but lost a nail-biting 4–3 Armageddon tiebreak to Carlsen. Nakamura later secured third place by defeating Arjun Erigaisi of Gen.G Esports 3.5–2.5 in the bronze medal match, earning US $145,000.
(ii) In his acceptance speech, Carlsen called the event “a new ground conquered” and expressed hope that chess will become a permanent fixture at future esports competitions. With chess joining the lineup, spectator engagement soared—over 30,000 viewers watched live on Chess.com, setting new records for grandmaster matches in an esports setting.
(iii) This historic victory signified not just a personal milestone for Carlsen but also a leap forward for chess as a digital sport. His triumph underlines the merging paths of traditional board games and esports, reflecting wider trends in global sporting entertainment.
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