All twenty-five disciplines are now confirmed for the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2025, which kicks off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on July 8.

EWC 2025 games lineup:

• Chess – confirmed dates July 31 – Aug. 3 
• Counter-Strike 2 – confirmed dates Aug. 20-24

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
• Call of Duty: Warzone
• Free Fire
• Street Fighter 6
• DOTA 2
• Rainbow Six Siege
• PUBG Mobile
• Apex Legends
• EA Sports FC
• Overwatch 2
• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Women’s Invitational)
• Rocket League
• Rennsport
• Honor of Kings
• PUBG
• CrossFire
• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
• League of Legends
• Teamfight Tactics
• Valorant
• Tekken 8
• StarCraft II

After a successful inaugural event in 2024, which saw over $60 million in prize money, this year’s competition is gearing up for even more action as it features one more discipline – chess. And it looks like the very first competition for the EWC chess title and a $1.5 million prize pool is going to be intense, as elite chess players are getting signed by top-tier esports organizations. Indian grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi has joined Korean team Gen.G, while Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana have signed with Team Liquid. Chinese team LGD Gaming has brought in former world champion Ding Liren, and Team Vitality secured Maxime ‘MVL’ Vachier-Lagrave. Esports giant NAVI has expanded into chess as well, adding top players like Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Wesley So, and Oleksandr Bortnyk to its roster. Meanwhile, Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura joined Team Falcons and Aurora Gaming powered up with Ian Nepomniachtchi.

EWC 2024 winners:

• Apex Legends – ALLIANCE
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – ATLANTA FAZE
• Call of Duty: Warzone – TEAM FALCONS
• Counter-Strike 2 – NATUS VINCERE
• Dota2 – GAIMIN GLADIATORS
• EA Sports FC – jafonso
• ESL R1 – Drivers: Kevin Siggy
• ESL R1 – Teams: TEAM REDLINE
• Fortnite – XSET
• Free Fire – TEAM FALCONS
• Honor of Kings – KPL DREAM TEAM
• League of Legends – T1
• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – SELANGOR RED GIANTS
• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women – SMART OMEGA EMPRESS
• Overwatch 2 – CRAZY RACCOON
• PUBG MOBILE – ALPHA 7 ESPORTS
• PUBG PC – SONIQS
• Rainbow Six Siege – TEAM BDS
• Rocket League – TEAM BDS
• Starcraft II – Clem
• Street Fighter 6 – xiaohai
• Teamfight Tactics – WOLVES ESPORTS
• Tekken 8 – ULSAN

The 17th season of King Pro League (KPL), the highest league tournament of Honor of Kings, is about to start on Feb. 12, 2025, featuring 18 elite teams competing for a $2 million prize pool.

KPL is the highest league tournament of Honor of Kings, a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Tencent Games for iOS and Android.

The King Pro League unfolds in multiple stages:

• Stage 1: February 12 – March 2, 2025
• Stage 2: March 5 – March 30, 2025
• Seat Decider Matches: April 1 – 2, 2025
• Stage 3: April 5 – 20, 2025

Stages 1, 2, and 3 will employ a single round-robin format with best-of-five (BO5) matches. The Seat Decider Matches will determine final placements leading into the playoffs.

The top 10 teams will advance to the playoffs, scheduled from April 24 to May 4, 2025. This phase will feature a double-elimination bracket, with all matches conducted as best-of-seven (BO7) series. The grand finals will see the top two teams face off in a BO7 showdown.

King Pro League participating teams:

• AG Super Play
• Douyu Gaming
• Dragon Ranger Gaming
• EDward Gaming
• eStar Pro
• Hero JiuJing
• JD Gaming
• KuaiShow Gaming
• Talent Gaming
• Royal Never Give Up
• Rogue Warriors
• LGD NBW
• Team WE
• TOP Esports Armor
• Weibo Gaming
• Wolves
• Qing Jiu Club
• Kai Lun Gaming

Notably, Qing Jiu Club and Kai Lun Gaming have secured temporary slots for this season. Defending champions AG Super Play aim to retain their title amidst fierce competition.

Honor of Kings was the second-highest-earning mobile game worldwide for February 2021, with $218.5 million in gross revenue, and in 2023, the game maintained its position as the top-grossing mobile game, earning approximately $1.48 billion. According to the latest estimates, Honor of Kings also has 100 million daily active users worldwide.