By Sagar Mankar 
After a groundbreaking inaugural event in 2024, the Esports World Cup is set to return to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the summer of 2025.
Organized by the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF), the first edition featured 19 game titles and 22 tournaments, including popular titles like Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, PUBG Mobile, Honor of Kings, Apex Legends, and Rainbow Six Siege. Over 1,500 players from top esports clubs competed for what was the largest prize pool in esports history.
In its second edition, the Esports World Cup promises to expand its lineup to include 25 game titles, showcasing a broad array of genres to captivate diverse audiences. Returning favorites such as Honor of Kings and Free Fire are joined by newly announced titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Competition Structure
The 2nd Esports World Cup will follow its similar two-tiered competition format. Each game title operates with its own qualification system, leading to thrilling championship rounds at Riyadh. Alongside individual tournaments, the event also features a Club Competition, where participating organizations accumulate points and win prizes based on their collective performance across all games.
In 2024, the Club Competition saw Team Falcons emerge as champions, securing a staggering $7 million. Other top-performing teams included Team Liquid ($4 million), Team BDS ($2 million), and Team Vitality ($1.5 million).
Confirmed Titles
Honor of Kings was the first title confirmed for 2025, following a three-year agreement between its global publisher, Level Infinite, and the EWCF earlier this year. Last month, they unveiled a roadmap that includes the Honor of Kings Invitational Midseason in Riyadh, in addition to two other major global tournaments.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will make its debut, replacing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
Free Fire will make its return after achieving record-breaking viewership in the 2024 event, with a peak of 471,483. Notably, this record was surpassed now by the Free Fire World Series Global Finals 2024, which drew 731,970 viewers, as per Esports Charts.
Here are the confirmed titles announced so far (with Announcement Date):
- Honor of Kings (October 29, 2024)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (November 12, 2024)
- Call of Duty: Warzone (November 20, 2024)
- Free Fire (November 25, 2024)
More titles will be added soon.
In addition to the Esports World Cup, Saudi Arabia is set to host the inaugural Esports Olympic Games next year.
Furthermore, Hero Esports (formerly known as VSPO) is poised to host the multi-title Asian Champions League (ACL), which will serve as the qualifying tournament for Asian teams vying for the Esports World Cup.
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