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The Chess Esports World Cup 2025 concluded on Friday, August 1 with the chess legend, Magnus Carlsen of Team Liquid, emerging as champion. He defeated Alireza Firouzja of Team Falcon in the grand final by 2:0. Magnus bagged $250,000 prize money, and Team Liquid earned the 1000 club points in the Club Championship points table. Indian players like Nihal Sarin and Arjun Erigisi also played well in the tournament.
Magnus Carlsen wins Chess Esports World Cup 2025
Regarded as one of the best chess players in the world, Magnus Carlsen achieved one more title by winning the first-ever Chess Esports World Cup 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He defeated the Team Falcon's Alireza Firouzja by 2:0. The match was a best-of-10 series, where Carlsen won both with a score of 3-1 each.
Team Falcons' Alireza secured the second rank while another player from Team Falcon, Hikaru Nakamura, secured the third place by defeating India's Arjun Erigaisi in the third place match.
If we talk about the Indian player performances in the Chess Esports World Cup 2025, Nehal Sarin, who represented the S8UL Esports, played the playoffs of the tournament, but lost quarter-finals to Magnus Carles. Arjun Erigaisi, who was representing the Gen.G Esports, finished fourth. Some other Indian players like Aravindh Chithambaram, Aarav Dengla, Vidit Gujrathi, and R. Praggnanandhaa were unable to qualify for the main event.
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 |
