Esports World Cup is an S-tier tournament with a prize pool of $1,25 million that will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from August 20 to August 24. Sixteen teams will be featured, with all the top teams fighting for the huge prize pool and a trophy. Teams like Vitality, MOUZ, and Spirit are among the participant lists, and it will be a thriller to watch who will come on top this time and become the best team.
Contents
Tournament Format & Teams
Playoff Stage Format
- Single-Elimination bracket
- All matches are Bo3
| Vitality | MOUZ |
| Spirit | TheMongolZ |
| Natus Vincere | Falcons |
| FaZe | Aurora |
| G2 | Astralis |
| GamerLegion | 3DMAX |
| Virtus.pro | TYLOO |
| Liquid | HEROIC |
Favorites and Underdogs
Top Contenders
- Spirit
- Vitality
- MOUZ
- TheMongolZ
These four teams will be the main favorites for the trophy, as they have been to many Grand Finals this year and proven themselves many times as the top teams and the real top contenders. Vitality lost two tournaments in a row, and Spirit just won two trophies in a row, while winning against both MOUZ and TheMongolZ, so if we take the recent results, Spirit is the main favorite out of the four teams here, even though Vitality still keeps the number 1 team of the world spot to their name.
Dark Horses
- Natus Vincere
- Aurora
- Falcons
- FaZe
- Liquid
- Virtus.pro
Natus Vincere and Falcons—these two teams have been named dark horses because both of them were the top contenders before. Now, they have one young player as an addition to their main roster. They’re yet to prove themselves at the big stage, but other than that, they have all the experience needed to be a title contender.
FaZe, Liquid, Virtus.pro, and Aurora—all of them had their ups and downs throughout the year. Still, they’re experienced teams with experienced players who can take down any team on a good day, which they have proven a few times while playing against the best teams. However, they’ve yet to show their consistency, and that’s why they’re on that list.
Underdogs
The rest of the teams are underdogs here at such a big tournament for common reasons, such as having less experience than the rest of the participating teams and having fewer known or individually skilled players. They will have to prove themselves against top teams first of all.
Opening Matches Schedule
August 20
- Natus Vincere vs. 3DMAX and GamerLegion vs. TheMongolZ starting at 13:00 CET
- Vitality vs. Liquid and TYLOO vs. Astralis starting at 16:15 CET
- FaZe vs. Aurora and Spirit vs. HEROIC starting at 19:30 CET
August 21
- MOUZ vs. Virtus.pro and G2 vs. Falcons starting at 13:00 CET
- Quarter-final #1 starts at 16:15 CET
- Quarter-final #2 starts at 19:30 CET
How to Watch
The Esports World Cup 2025 will be broadcast worldwide through Twitch and YouTube, two streaming platforms. You can watch all the action from your home, office, or even out and about.
Esports World Cup 2025 Official Streams:
- Esports World Cup 2025 Twitch Primary Stream
- Esports World Cup 2025 YouTube Stream
- Esports World Cup 2025 Twitch Secondary Stream
Keep up with our coverage for more insights on the latest esports news and updates.
