The Esports World Cup is Underway and History is Already Being Made!
July has been quite the month in the world of esports, with the Esports World Cup dominating headlines with constant action over the past four weeks.
The biggest event of the year is now in full swing, with 11 tournaments coming to an end and, amazingly, there being 11 different winners. After an impressive debut last year, it seems 2025 is all about being bigger and better, with a lot of improvements making this the premier event of the year so far.
Our team has also been on hand in Riyadh, helping kick things off in style and of course, preparing for the Decade Awards that will soon be taking place as part of the Esports World Cup. There is still time to vote for your winners of the decade, so be sure to keep voting every day to help your favourites win the most prestigious award in all of esports.
Industry News
The Esports Awards Support the EWC Red Carpet
Our team headed out to Riyadh for the opening weekend of the Esports World Cup, where we were tasked with supporting the illustrious red carpet for the event’s opening ceremony. With Post Malone headlining the ceremony, it was a packed red carpet, with stars from around the globe wanting to help celebrate the launch of the 2025 Esports World Cup. Now the team is still on the ground in Riyadh preparing for the Decade Awards, so be sure to say hello if you see them at EWC.
Team Vitality partner with Stake
After getting off to a strong start in the club standings at EWC 2025, Vitality look like they’re winning on and off the server this month. Announced with a slick video that references iconic French film “La Haine” and includes Formula 1’s Niko Hulkenberg, Vitality have partnered with online casino Stake in a “seven-figure deal” as Stake becomes the international betting partner for the organisation’s Counter-Strike 2 roster.
NetEase release details about Marvel Rivals LAN
NetEase have released more details about the upcoming Marvel Rivals Ignite Mid-Season Finals LAN, which is set to take place in Guangzhou, China in early August. Huge names have already qualified for the $500,000 event, including Sentinels, 100 Thieves, and Gen.G, with the latter of those set to face ENVY to kick off the competition.
Herman Miller partners with Riot for VCT EMEA
Sometimes all a player needs is a good gaming chair, and the VCT EMEA players will be hoping they have exactly that as Riot has partnered with Herman Miller for VCT EMEA Stage 2. From July 16th to August 31st, players and on-air talent will be provided with Herman Miller Embody chairs as the teams compete for a $250,000 prizepool and the chance to qualify for VALORANT Champions 2025.
FIFAe Finals to take place in Saudi Arabia in 2025 and 2026
FIFAe have announced that its season-ending World Finals will be taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the next two years. The annual event, which takes place in December, will feature Rocket League as well as eFootball on both mobile and console. 2025’s edition of the event will take place between December 10th and 19th and plenty of people are expected to be watching, last year’s event had a combined peak of 750,000 viewers.
T1 sign three-year partnership with Red Sea Global
Korean organisation T1 have signed a three-year partnership with tourism company, Red Sea Global. The partnership, which is the first time a tourism company has partnered with an esports org, will see the Red Sea Global logo presented on T1’s jerseys, as well as a sponsor within their YouTube content.
MSI smashes viewership record
League of Legends’ MSI smashed its viewership record this year, increasing to 3.4m viewers from 2.8m viewers last year. The peak, which excludes Chinese viewership, came during the grand final match, in which Gen.G took on T1 and turned out victorious against Faker and his squad. The popularity of T1 was clear in the viewing figures, Korean viewers made up 1.1m of the 3.4m number.
Apex Legends icon announces his retirement
Apex Legends icon Timothy "iiTzTimmy" An has announced his retirement from the game, announcing that the ALGS Mid-season Playoffs will be not just his final event with NRG, but of his professional career, too. Previously also playing for 100 Thieves and Moist Esports, iiTzTimmy has picked up multiple top four finishes at events in a career that began back in 2019.
EWC partners with IMG for EWC Spotlight show
The Esports World Cup has partnered with marketing firm IMG to deliver “EWC Spotlight” a two-hour long show that will air from Friday to Sunday during the event. Covering highlights, behind the scenes footage, and celebrity appearances, EWC Spotlight will give an insight into all the goings on at the Esports World Cup.
Speed and Jynxzi to host $100k Fortnite Tournament
Popular streamers IShowSpeed and Jynxzi have announced that they will be hosting a Fortnite tournament with a $100,000 prize pool. The tournament will feature 100 content creators all battling it out for the prize pool, a format that has previously been successful at events such as Fortnite Pro-AM.
jL benched by NAVI’s CS2 team to take a break from competing
PGL Copenhagen Major 2024 MVP Justinas "jL" Lekavičius has announced that he will be taking a break from competing following his benching by NAVI. The Lithuanian was one of the stars as NAVI dominated the Counter-Strike world in 2024, but the player said in a video announcement that he wanted to focus on other aspects of his life, such as his family and hobbies outside of gaming.
Counter-Strike will return to Katowice in 2026
Although the announcement of IEM Krakow seemed to throw the place of Katowice’s iconic Spodek Arena into doubt within the Counter-Strike world, it turns out the fans won’t have to wait long to see action return, as ESL have confirmed they will return to the city later in 2026. ESL haven’t yet stated whether it will be an IEM event or a season of the ESL Pro League that takes place within the arena, but the latter seems more likely given IEM’s move to Krakow.
Razer and Pokémon team up for new collaboration
Launched globally on July 17, 2025, expanding from its initial Asia‑only release. The officially licensed lineup features four core PC gaming peripherals—Razer BlackWidow V4 X keyboard, Cobra mouse, Kraken V4 X headset, and Gigantus V2 mouse‑mat—each decked out with vibrant artwork of Pikachu and the Kanto starter Pokémon: Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle
Competitive Results
Gen.G go back to back at MSI and EWC
Gen.G became back to back international champions in League of Legends this month after winning two events within eight days of each other. First Gen.G won the Mid-Season Invitational, beating T1 3-2 in a tight grand final, before they flew over to Riyadh for the Esports World Cup, where they beat AG.AL in another close 3-2 victory. The two wins are the fastest back to back international tournament wins in LoL history, with Gen.G taking home a combined $1.1 million in prize money.
Redline becomes first two time EWC champions
Team Redline, the sim racing organisation featuring F1 world champion Max Verstappen, became the first ever two time EWC champions after claiming the Rennsport title for a second time during week one of the Esports World Cup. The exact same roster that won the title in 2024 returned in 2025 and kept their dominant run going, making the victory look easy. They have since been joined by Honor of Kings player Xu “YiNuo” Bicheng, who won in 2024 with the KPL Dream Team and then again this year with AG.AL.
Heretics Pull off reverse sweep in Valorant at EWC
Valorant made its EWC debut this year and after an incredible final fans are already clamouring for its return in 2026. Team Heretics came back from 2-0 to beat Fnatic 3-2 in a reverse sweep in the grand final, but what makes it even more impressive is how dominant Fnatic were in maps one and two. The first two maps ended 13-4 and 13-1, with many expecting a very quick final, but Heretics somehow fought back to claim the trophy.
VK Gaming win ALGS Midseason Playoffs
VK Gaming pulled off an unlikely win at the Apex Legends ALGS Midseason Playoffs, beating out a number of high profile teams to claim the victory. The Chinese squad were not considered a likely winner heading into the event, but a strong performance in the grand finals set them up for the win, with the roster reaching match point after six games and then securing the trophy with a victory in the ninth game.
Team Vitality Dominate MLBB MWI
The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational took place at the Esports World Cup, with a $500,000 prize pool on the line for the best female players in the game. The tournament was dominated by Team Vitality, who went undefeated throughout the tournament to claim the win in dominant fashion. The win avenges their shock loss in the 2024 final, and is a major reason why Team Vitality currently tops the EWC Club Championship standings.
Serral furthers his GOAT status at EWC
Joona "Serral" Sotala has furthered his claim to be the greatest of all time in StarCraft II, after winning the Esports World Cup 2025 competition, his third world championship. The win was surprisingly simple for the Finnish player, beating Kim "Classic" Doh-woo 5-2 in the grand final, to claim the $200,000 first place prize.
OpTic claims back to back CoD gold
OpTic Gaming has added to their 2025 trophy collection by winning the Call of Duty Black Ops 6 tournament at the Esports World Cup. This follows the organisation’s victory at the CDL Championship last month, making them the first team to pull off the Champs and EWC double in the same year.
And Finally…
100T Player Has Major Surgery, Comes Back To Win Apex Legends Match
At the ALGS Midseason Playoffs 100 Thieves player Josue "Phony" Ruiz was rushed to a Riyadh hospital just a day before he was due to compete to have emergency appendix surgery. However, 24 hours after the surgery he was back on stage competition with his team, and even managed to win the first match he played in. 100 Thieves would go on to place seventh in the tournament, an incredible result given the circumstances.