The record-breaking Esports World Cup 2025 prize pool
While there are many ways to judge the impact of an esports tournament, a few factors hold the most weight. From team in attendance to production value, hosts, casters, and of course, the prize pool tournament organizers put behind their experiences. It’s a show of confidence, and something that the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) is breaking records with.
To cut to the chase: the Esports World Cup 2025 mega-event, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 7 July to 24 August 2025, boasting a ton of your favorite esports titles, will have a record-breaking combined prize pool of $70+ million.
The EWC 2025 Prize Pool
At the current Dollar to Rand exchange rate, that’s over R1.25 billion! Yes, billion! You can and should read the full announcement via the official EWC website. It has awesome details and quotes that further explain the prize pool.
Ralf Reichert, the CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, explains:
“The record-breaking $70+ million prize pool, along with our commitment to the Club Partner Program and our multi-year publisher agreements, is a privilege to announce and validation of our purpose to elevate the industry, by giving players, clubs, publishers and all other stakeholders the stability needed to invest for future success. While more than $70 million is an incredible, life-changing sum, it’s always aligned with a long-term vision rather than short-term impact. It’s not just to have more money at stake, but to create opportunities for everyone at every level of the ecosystem, and strengthen the industry for generations to come.“
As per a Press Release announcing the record-breaking prize pool, the EWCF explained the distribution of the $70+ million prize pool:
“The EWC Club Championship, the innovative cross-game competitive format unique to the EWC, will award $27 million of the $70+ million total to the top 16 Clubs based on their overall performance, with $7 million allotted for the 2025 winner. After the Club Championship’s $27 million allocation, the remainder of the total prize pool will be divided into three distribution categories: Game Championships, MVP Awards, and qualifiers on the Road to EWC. Each of the Game Championships will have its prize pool with a combined total exceeding $38 million. In addition, a $450,000 MVP Award pool will be allocated to standout participants across all competitions. More than $5 million will be awarded to the Road to EWC qualifiers, where teams and players compete for the remaining tournament spots through eligible events hosted by partnered publishers and organizers.“
Last year, the Esports World Cup 2024 mega-event attracted well over 500 million viewers online across all the tournaments and matches. Incredibly impressive is the 2.6 million visitors to Riyadh’s Boulevard City during the time, showcasing that esports is well-and-truly mainstream.
Well done, EWCF, well done.
We can’t wait to watch all the action of the Esports World Cup 2025, and bring you viewer’s guides to all the tournaments, as well as the results. Stay tuned at ESC, as I’ll personally share all the details with you!
Header image via EWCF.
