The next iteration of the Esports World Cup (EWC) will, for the first time, see VALORANT amongst its huge roster of games. The Esports World Cup Foundation’s partnership with developer Riot Games means that VALORANT will be present at the EWC for at least the next three years, with millions of dollars in prize money set to be won across tournaments. On the whole, the Esports World Cup will host 25 esports tournaments, featuring a total prize pool of $70 million.
Esports World Cup 2025 Tournament Format
The EWC’s inaugural VALORANT tournament will feature 16 teams from across the VALORANT Champions Tour’s tier one regions. Those 16 will be drawn into four double-elimination groups, of which the top two from each will move on to the bracket stage. Group matches will be decided through best-of-threes, excluding the first round of fixtures, which will be best-of-one.
The single-elimination bracket will also be mostly decided through best-of-three series, before the best-of-five grand final to crown the inaugural VALORANT EWC winner.
All Esports World Cup 2025 Teams
Teams can qualify for the Esports World Cup both through placings in Riot-run VCT leagues, as well as via specific EWC qualifiers. The first to book their place were the top-two sides from each of the VCT Stage 1 events. These are G2 Esports and Sentinels from VCT Americas, Fnatic and Team Heretics from VCT EMEA, Rex Regum Qeon and Gen.G Esports from VCT Pacific, and Bilibili Gaming and XLG Esports from VCT China.
The remainder of the attendees made it through purpose-run EWC qualifiers or through alternate regional tournaments that acted as qualifiers for the event. In China, this saw EDward Gaming and Titan Esports Club qualify for EWC by reaching the final of the VALORANT China Evolution Series Act 2. EMEA qualifiers saw BBL Esports and Karmine Corp book their spots, Pacific qualifiers were won by Paper Rex and DRX, and Americas qualifiers were clinched by NRG and 100 Thieves.
Esports World Cup 2025 Prize Pool Distribution
With the wider event having a total prize pool of $70 million, the EWC’s first-ever VALORANT event will see $1.25 million of prize money available. The winning team will take home $500k, second-place $230k, third-place $130k, and fourth-place $70k. Further down the ladder, 5th-8th will take home $40k each, 9th-12th $25k each, and 13th-16th $15k each.
There will also be an additional $10k on offer for the tournament’s MVP.
It’s worth noting that teams’ performances in each title at the EWC add to their ranking in the Club Championship. This tallies up the best-performing organisations across tournaments and rewards them with further prize money, peaking at an extra $7 million for the Championship-winning side.
Esports World Cup 2025 Teams to Watch
With the top teams from each region in attendance, there should be plenty of elite VALORANT on display at this event. Back-to-back Americas champions G2 will unsurprisingly be amongst the favourites, as will their closest regional competition Sentinels. EMEA’s Fnatic and Team Heretics are both on form, having started the season slowly, as are Pacific’s Gen.G, who look close to returning to their 2024 Masters Madrid-winning level. And, of course, Masters Toronto champions Paper Rex will head to Riyadh full of confidence having finally lifted a global trophy.
How to Watch Esports World Cup 2025
When the VALORANT leg of the Esports World Cup kicks off in July, all the action will be streamed live on the Esports World Cup’s official Twitch channel. The channel will host all of the multi-game event’s key moments across its two months of competition.
