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Magnus Carlsen, the Norwegian chess grandmaster who’s the highest-rated player in history, recently won the ESports World Cup’s chess competition. The professional chess player, who is 34 years old, was one of sixteen competitors. After winning the competition, he will take home a cash prize worth $250,000.
Carlsen’s career in chess has been exceptional, to say the least. He holds various records and is currently a five-time World Chess Champion and World Rapid Chess Champion. If you’re keen to bet on Carlsen, the best esport bookmaker is a great option.
Chess Competition Details
The competition that Carlsen won was part of the 2025 ESports World Cup. This was the second edition of the ESports World Cup (EWC) and took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (the first edition was also held here). The EWC lasted from 8 July to 24 August and attracted many of the best-known players from around the world. Together they played in a total of 25 esports.
Chess was included in the roster of esports for the first time at this year’s EWC. Its addition caused controversy as some people don’t think chess, which is mainly played in real-life settings with physical equipment, should be regarded as an esport. It’s played online, but it’s not a video game like other esports.
The organizers of the EWC believed chess should be included as it’s played and enjoyed by millions of people over the internet. The EWC also mentioned that chess has reached a new milestone thanks to its inclusion in the 2025 event. Online chess has certainly come a long way, and the EWC 2025 will no doubt encourage more people to start playing the game.
Carlsen was one of sixteen top chess players who took part in the competition. A dozen, including Carlsen, were from the Champions Chess Tour 2025 standings, while the remaining four came from the Last Chance Qualifier. There were two stages to the competition: the group stage followed by the playoffs.
For the group stage, the sixteen players took part in a double elimination bracket and were whittled down to eight. Then for the playoffs, the eight remaining players took part in a single elimination bracket. Between them, the sixteen players represented thirteen professional teams. All players are grandmasters; this is the highest ranking a player can achieve in professional chess.
Carlsen’s Performance
As expected, Carlsen was the best-performing player in his group during the first stage of the competition. He was in Group D and won his first match against Uzbek player Nodirbek Abdusattorov 1.5 to 0.5. He then won 1.5 – 0.5 against Jan-Krzysztof Duda from Poland. When it came to the second stage, Carlsen won 2.5 – 0.5 against Indian player Nihal Sarin before defeating American Hikaru Nakamura 4 – 3.
For the deciding match, which took place on 1 August, it was Carlsen versus Alireza Firouzja from Iran. Carlsen ended up winning 5 – 1, cementing his status as the world’s greatest chess player and adding yet another victory to his already long list of wins. After clinching his win, Carlsen said that he hopes the EWC will become a big part of the future of chess.
The ESports World Cup
The 2025 ESports World Cup is in many ways bigger than the first edition from 2024. It has a greater number of participating esports and a larger combined prize pool of $71.5 million. One key difference is that the events were spread across a seven-week period; last year, the whole event lasted eight weeks.
The event hasn’t been without controversy. Some have criticized the organizer behind it for agreeing to accept Saudi Arabia as the host nation. The EWC has been accused of ignoring the country’s human rights record and other ongoing political and social justice issues. Nonetheless, only a small number of players opted out of the EWC because of its decision to be hosted by Saudi Arabia.
The Future of Chess
Including chess at the EWC is a great step forward for the game. Hopefully, it will continue to feature on the roster for upcoming EWC events and will continue to attract the world’s best players. Its inclusion just goes to show how popular chess continues to be. Carlsen has already done a lot for the game, and his recent EWC victory could help generate even more interest in it.