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Magnus Carlsen Wins 1st Ever Chess Esports World Cup
Magnus Carlsen lifts the Esports World Cup trophy. Photo: Esports World Cup.

Magnus Carlsen Wins 1st Ever Chess Esports World Cup

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Colin_McGourty
| 209 | Chess Event Coverage

World number-one Magnus Carlsen is the first ever Chess Esports World Cup Champion after winning the final three games to beat GM Alireza Firouzja in the Grand Final. Carlsen took the $250,000 top prize and saw his Team Liquid sneak ahead in the overall championship. GM Hikaru Nakamura overcame GM Arjun Erigaisi 3.5-2.5 to take third place in a thrilling match where all but one of the six games was decisive. 

The chess event of the 2025 Esports World Cup is over, with the $1.5 million prize fund split as follows:

Final 2025 Chess Esports World Cup Standings 

There's also $27 million up for grabs for Esports teams, with the chess results enough to see Carlsen's Team Liquid edge ahead of Firouzja and Nakamura's Team Falcons.

Esports World Cup Club Standings After Chess

Let's take a look at the final day's action.

Carlsen Beats Firouzja To Win Esports World Cup

Carlsen defeated Firouzja to claim the title. Photo: Esports World Cup.

The final match of the event was held as best of three sets, with two four-game sets potentially followed by one two-game decider. Instead Carlsen wrapped things up 2-0 by winning 3-1 twice.

Going into the match, Firouzja of Team Falcons hadn't lost a single game of chess.

Carlsen had lost two, to Nakamura in the Semifinals, but he came through that match 4-3.

Any fears that it would be a case of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object were soon dispelled, however, since a quiet first game suddenly swung in Carlsen's favor when Firouzja's 21...Qa3? allowed the unusual blow 22.Nb8!!, winning the a8-rook due to threats on the back rank.

You could see from the live video that Carlsen spotted the chance immediately.

Carlsen would later describe his strategy for the 10+0 games as follows:

In this format there’s always a little bit of a trade-off. You cannot play quickly and... perfectly, so I tried to play well, to play good moves quickly, and that worked out really well!

We saw that in the second game of the match, where Carlsen played good chess but also much faster than his young opponent. They entered a rook endgame where Carlsen had almost four minutes to under 30 seconds, and it seemed inevitable that Firouzja would run out of time and lose. The world number-one didn't seem to be in the mood to win on the clock, however, and made only a token effort before a draw by repetition.

The curiosity was that he'd likely been objectively winning, for one move, after 35.Kg2.

The third game was also drawn and followed a similar pattern when it came to clock handling and taking a draw, but it was also the closest Carlsen came to getting outplayed by his opponent. The Norwegian admitted:

I think there was one moment briefly where I had a lost position in game three of the first set, but he had little time, so who knows if he’d have been able to convert that regardless, but overall I’m happy with the way that I played.

Firouzja can be a monster in fast chess, but we never quite saw him at his best in the final. Photo: Esports World Cup.

The win was subtle.

No harm was done for Carlsen, since in the fourth and final game of the set he built up a 4.5-minute lead on the clock.

He also took over on the board, and got to pounce with a fine tactic that saw Firouzja laugh as he realized his chances of saving the first set were gone. In fact, the game would end in checkmate. That's our Game of the Day, which GM Dejan Bojkov has analyzed below.

Dejan Bojkov's Game of the Day

The good news for Firouzja was that it didn't matter how heavily he'd lost the first set, since a win in the next would still take the match to a decider.

The bad news, however, was that Carlsen continued to dominate as the next set began. He seemingly broke all opening principles by following 5...h6 with 6...h5!?, a move that torpedoed any preparation that had been done in the break between sets.

Carlsen took control on the board and built up another huge edge on the clock, but then stumbled with 35...Nxe4?, which dropped a piece to 36.Re2!.

The black queen suddenly can't defend the knight.

A perfect day for Carlsen wasn't without some moments of despair. Photo: Esports World Cup.

It was an unusual situation, however, since the huge time discrepancy—24 seconds for Firouzja to Carlsen's four minutes and 30 seconds—meant that it wasn't clear who was favorite to win. If Carlsen hadn't been shocked at his mistake he might have found a way to set up a near fortress, but as it was, Firouzja suddenly accelerated to his regular speed and brilliantly held on to win—by seven seconds, with some help from Carlsen blundering a rook.

"I just felt like I let him back in the match for no reason," said Carlsen later on, and it was a moment of peril. If Firouzja had hit top form he might still have turned things around.

The audience was thrilled when Firouzja threatened to make a comeback. Photo: Esports World Cup.

Carlsen extinguished those hopes, however, with an immediate bounce-back win. The advantage the Norwegian built up out of the opening somewhat fizzled, except for a two-minute lead on the clock. This time, there would be no amnesty when it came to flagging, with Carlsen explaining:

I probably could have gone harder to try and flag him in a couple of games in the first matches, but when I had to in the second match, first of all I was a little bit better and it was a very flaggable position, so there was no way I was going to let that one go, but also I was quite determined to do everything to come back in the match and after that I felt really good. 

I was quite determined to do everything to come back in the match!

—Magnus Carlsen

The combination of speed and precision got the job done, with Firouzja losing a piece in the final position.

The scores were level, but there was no way back for Firouzja, as a pawn sacrifice in the next game backfired and Carlsen completely dominated. There was nothing better than to accept a queen trade into a miserable endgame, but instead Firouzja brought his queen back to d2, allowing it to be grabbed by a knight fork.

That meant a final game where Firouzja had to win on demand with the black pieces. It seemed at first there might be chances when Carlsen played a double-edged opening, but once again he gained an advantage, and then 24...e6? was a losing mistake by Firouzja. One small rook shuffle later, it was all over bar the shouting.

Carlsen literally earned a spot in the heroes club. Photo: Esports World Cup.

A third win in a row had made Carlsen the first player to win the Esports World Cup playing chess.

He took $250,000 and got to embed his name alongside the winners of the others esports.

Carlsen was the first chess player to get their name among the esports winners. Photo: Esports World Cup.

Carlsen said of the event:

I think it’s been incredible, not only playing but also watching the others. It’s been an amazing show, unlike anything that I’ve seen so far. It’s just been a joy and I really hope that this is a big part of the future for chess, and one more thing, maybe we can get on an even bigger stage next time, because it seems like there was enough people who wanted to get in!

I really hope that this is a big part of the future for chess.

—Magnus Carlsen on the Esports World Cup

Carlsen does a lap of honor. Photo: Esports World Cup.
Carlsen is hoping for a bigger venue next year. Photo: Esports World Cup.

Firouzja, meanwhile, had run out of steam, but still takes home a none-too-shabby $190,000. 

Nakamura Takes 3rd After Victory Over Arjun

Arjun started well, but Nakamura hit back. Photo: Esports World Cup.

Earlier in the day we had the clash for the $145,000 third place, with Nakamura and Arjun competing in a six-game match. It would turn into a thriller!

The start was a surprise, with Arjun powering to a dominant win in the first game. The Indian world number five was much better in a dozen moves, and was able to play with a flourish.

Nakamura later commented: 

It was a big wake-up call. I started off really sluggish, I just wasn’t there at all. I think yesterday played a role, not only because I lost but it was a very long match. I didn’t get back until midnight, so I felt tired, but when I lost the first game I tried to get into the rhythm. 

It took time to adapt, with the second game also shaky as Arjun had a tricky way to play on with an advantage in the final position where he forced a draw.

Then came the turning point. As Nakamura put it, "I think the big moment was the third game, when I was also losing but I turned it around and won, and from there, I felt good!"

Nakamura took third place by sheer force of will. Photo: Esports World Cup.

Both players felt the swing in momentum, with Arjun commenting, "Once I lost this I think my play slightly dropped and the fourth game he played really well and didn’t give me much of a chance." A fist pump accompanied the win that took Nakamura into the lead.

It seemed the match was all-but over, but the penultimate game was, in Nakamura's words, "a bit of an adventure!" A correct piece sacrifice by Nakamura proved tough to follow up, though when Arjun went astray there was a one-move chance to win the match on the spot. When that was missed, however, it was Arjun who won and levelled the scores!

That meant one more game before potential armageddon, and it looked as though we were headed that way, until Nakamura managed to grind out a win from nothing. As the U.S. star explained, "Finally the sixth game I got back to my roots and I was able to run my opponent out of time!"

Nakamura took bronze. Photo: Esports World Cup.

By the end Nakamura was winning on the board as well as the clock, and he could celebrate before the game was over.

"It’s a nice win, not the way I wanted it, but I’ll take it!" said Nakamura after winning the consolation match. He also, of course, made a final recap.Nakamura ends by summing up the tournament:

The event here was probably the best chess experience that I've had since the pandemic began in 2020. Between the numerous fans who showed up, all the autographs, pictures, and just the general atmosphere in the SNB Arena where we played all these games, it was a phenomenal experience and I enjoyed it immensely. I'm very hopeful that I'll be able to come back next year and play in this event as well.

The event here was probably the best chess experience that I've had since the pandemic began in 2020.

—Hikaru Nakamura

That's all for the (chess) Esports World Cup and we hope you also enjoyed the show!  

How to rewatch?
You can review the 2025 Esports World Cup games on our Events Page. You can also rewatch the live commentary on the Chess.com YouTube and Twitch channels.
GMs David Howell, Maurice Ashley, Ben Finegold, IMs Tania Sachdev, Jovanka Houska, FM Mike Klein, John Sargent, Dash Patterson, Tyler1, and Sandstorm hosted the broadcast.

The 2025 Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, featured chess for the first time, with a $1.5 million prize fund and $250,000 for first place, while chess players are also part of esports teams that share a $27 million prize fund. Twelve players qualified for the main event via the Champions Chess Tour, while four qualified in the Last Chance Qualifier (July 24-26) in Riyadh. The main event (July 29-August 1) was first split into four groups of four players. Half of the players were eliminated before the top eight competed in a knockout Playoff for the top prizes. The time control for all games was 10 minutes, with no increment.

Previous coverage:

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Colin McGourty

Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.

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