Over 2,000 players to compete in Esports World Cup

The opening press conference for the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) was held in Riyadh on Wednesday, marking the start of the world's largest esports and gaming festival.

Players for Team China enter the venue before the Arena of Valor Asian Games Version final of Esports at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, on Sept 26, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The 2025 EWC will open on Thursday evening with a star-studded opening ceremony. Running until August 24, the event features more than 2,000 elite players, 25 tournaments across 24 leading titles, and a prize pool of over 70 million U.S. dollars.

Speaking at the press conference, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, Chairman of the Saudi Esports Federation, said: "We are immensely proud to welcome back the world to Riyadh for the Esports World Cup. This event stands as a global milestone for esports by showcasing the scale, ambition and future of competitive gaming."

The 2025 EWC brings together the world's top 200 clubs to compete in a cross-title format, the first of its kind.

At the heart of the competition is the Club Championship, where teams accumulate points across multiple games to become the EWC club champion.

"The 2025 EWC is about bringing the gaming world together - iconic games, elite players and millions of fans around a shared celebration," said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation.