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The Chess Esports World Cup 2025 wrapped up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Magnus Carlsen of Team Liquid emerged as champion while Alireza Firouzja of Team Falcons finished as runners-up. Indian prodigy, Arjun Erigaisi, secured the highest rank among all the Indian players who participated in the tournament, including R. Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin, Vidit Gujrathi, and Aravindh Chithambaram. Representing Gen.G Esports, Arjun secured the fourth rank in the Chess Esports World Cup 2025.
How much prize money did Arjun Erigaisi win at the Esports World Cup 2025?
The inaugural Chess Esports World Cup 2025 featured a massive prize pool of $1,500,000, distributed among 16 participants. The winner of the tournament, Magnus Carlsen, bagged $250,000 prize money, and the second-ranked player, Alireza Firouzja, won $190,000.
The Indian Grandmaster, Arjun Erigaisi, secured fourth rank in the tournament and won $115,000 (INR 1.04 Crore approx.). He represented Gen.G Esports in the tournament and finished highest among all Indian participants. Nihal Sarin, who represented the Indian club S8UL, secured the 7th rank, bagging $85,000 prize money.
Arjun Erigaisi is the only player who directly qualified for the Main Event via 2025 CCT Points Standing, while other Indian players like R. Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin, Vidit Gujrathi, and Aravindh Chithambaram competed in Last Chance Qualifiers.
In the Group Stage, Arjun Erigaisi defeated Nihal Sarin and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the Upper Bracket Semi-Final and Final to qualify for the Playoffs. In the playoffs, he beat Ian Nepomniachtchi by 2.5:1.5 in the quarterfinals. However, in the semi-finals, he lost to Alireza Firouzja by 4-1. For the third-place match, Hikaru Nakamura defeated Arjun by 3.5:2.5.
Chess Esports World Cup 2025 prize pool distribution
| Place | Player | Team | USD | Club Points |
| 1st | Magnus Carlsen | Team Liquid | $250,000 | 1000 |
| 2nd | Alireza Firouzja | Team Falcon | $190,000 | 750 |
| 3rd | Hikaru Nakamura | Team Falcon | $145,000 | 500 |
| 4th | Arjun Erigaisi | Gen.G Esports | $115,000 | 300 |
| 5th | Ian Nepomniachtchi | Aurora Gaming | $85,000 | 200 |
| 6th | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | NAVI | $85,000 | 200 |
| 7th | Nihal Sarin | S8UL | $85,000 | 200 |
| 8th | Levon Aronian | REJECT | $85,000 | 200 |
| 9th | Andrey Esipenko | Virtus.pro | $65,000 | |
| 10th | Maxime Yachier-Lagrave | Team Vitality | $65,000 | |
| 11th | Wei Yi | Weibo Gaming | $65,000 | |
| 12th | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | Twisted Minds | $65,000 | |
| 13th | Vlaaduslav Artemiev | Team Spirit | $50,000 | |
| 14th | Anish Giri | Team Secret | $50,000 | |
| 15th | Javokhir Sindarov | Team Vitality | $50,000 | |
| 16th | Fabiano Caruana | Team Liquid | $50,000 |
