Magnus Carlsen Inks History, Wins First-Ever Chess Esports World Cup

Hyderabad: World No.1 Magnus Carlsen scripted history as he became the first-ever champion of the inaugural Esports World Cup 2025 on Saturday. The Norwegian star, representing Team Liquid, outplayed Alireza Firouzja with two consecutive 3-1 set wins in the Grand Final in Saudi Arabia. With the triumph, he earned a prize money of $250,000. He dished out a convincing performance throughout the four-day event and showcased consistent control and clock management.

Earlier on the final day of the competition, India’s Arjun Erigaisi conceded a loss against Hikaru Nakamura 2½–3½ and finished in fourth place.

Team Liquid at the top of the standings

With Carlsen’s win over Firouzja, Team Liquid topped the overall standings. However, the event still has some more competitions like Crossfire, Street Fighter, and Counter-Strike across the tournament’s seven-day schedule.

Carlsen’s title run began with victories over Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. In the knockouts, he scored a win over Nihal Sarin in the quarterfinals and also escaped a close call against Hikaru Nakamura in the semifinals. During his campaign, the game against Nakamura turned out to be the toughest for the 34-year-old as his opponent pushed the contest into the sixth game and into Armageddon for a thrilling encounter.

The final featured a best-of-three sets format. Each of the first two sets included four 10-minute games without increment. The third set consisted of two games, and the result will be determined by a bidding Armageddon only if necessary.

However, the contest didn’t go much deeper as Carlsen scripted back-to-back 3–1 wins in the first two sets to bag the title of the tournament.

Erigaisi Gets $115,000

Nakamura defeated Erigaisi in a six-game match and pocketed a $145,000 prize. On the other hand, the Indian Grandmaster took home $115,000 prize money. It was an exciting contest between the two, and the match witnessed numerous shifts in the momentum.

Erigaisi won the first game with white pawns in just 34 moves and took the lead. The second game ended in a draw after 28 moves. Nakamura then found his rhythm in game three and equalised the scores with black pieces.

The decisive stage of the contest came in game four, where engines evaluated the position of both players as equal towards the endgame. Nakmaura had 1 minute and 35 seconds on the clock while Erigaisi had 55 seconds. With the clock ticking fast, Erigaisi faltered to defend his position and lost the game.