Road to the Esports World Cup 2025 — how players can qualify for events

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The Esports World Cup 2025 is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated events in competitive gaming, uniting elite teams and lucky qualifier winners from around the globe in a massive, multi-title festival. Hosted in Riyadh, the event will showcase top-tier competition across some of the most popular esports titles today, including League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, and many more. With thousands of fans expected to tune in and a record-breaking prize pool on the line, the road to qualification is already heating up.

Each game featured at the Esports World Cup follows a distinct qualification path, ranging from regional and international tournaments to points-based rankings and direct invitations. Whether it's through established leagues like the LEC and LCK for League of Legends, or points rankings like the ESL Pro Tour Leaderboard for Dota 2, top teams will need to prove themselves across a variety of competitive formats to earn their place on the world stage.

In this guide, we break down how qualification works for each title, what teams need to watch out for, and which regions are likely to produce the strongest contenders. Whether you're a dedicated esports follower or a fan of a specific game, here's what you need to know about the road to the Esports World Cup 2025. 

How to qualify for Apex Legends at the Esports World Cup?

Apex Legends will be featured at the Esports World Cup 2025, but qualification details have not yet been announced. It’s currently unclear whether spots will be awarded through ALGS standings, a dedicated qualifier, or invitational selection.

How to qualify for Call of Duty at the Esports World Cup?

Call of Duty is confirmed for the Esports World Cup 2025, both with tournamnts held for Warzone and Black Ops 6. How teams will qualify for these events is yet to be announced, but likely, teams will qualify through a mixture of EWC qualifier tournaments as well as results of the official CDL tournaments and other established Call of Duty events. 

How to qualify for Chess at the Esports World Cup?

To compete at the Esports World Cup for Chess in 2025, players have to either collect Champions Chess Tour (CCT) 2025 Circuit Points or qualify through the Last Chance Qualifier, which will be hosted live in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The CCT hosts two events before the EWC this year, Chessable Masters, which finished in February, and its second leg. 

So far, Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Ian Nepomniachtchi have confirmed their participation in the EWC through podium places at this year’s Chessable Masters. These are just some of the chess players who were signed to esports organizations earlier this year in anticipation of the EWC.

Read more: Why are esports organizations signing chess players in 2025?

How to qualify for Counter-Strike 2 at the Esports World Cup?

Teams at the Esports World Cup for Counter-Strike 2 in 2025 are determined through the new Valve Regional Standings. The top 15 teams on the leaderboard as of July 25 will be invited, along with the champion of the Asian Champions League 2025 who receives a direct qualification to the EWC. 

How to qualify for CrossFire at the Esports World Cup?

For CrossFire, the Esports World Cup replaces their previous mid-season event, the CrossFire Stars Summer Championship. The tournament will feature the top-ranked teams from each of the CrossFire Stars global regions.

The participants at the EWC include the top four from China’s CFPL, top three from Vietnam’s CFVL, EMEA’s CFWL, and Brazil’s CFBL, top two from the Philippine Masters, and the champion of the HERO ESPORTS Asian Champions League 2025. 

How to qualify for Dota 2 at the Esports World Cup?

Dota 2’s Esports World Cup tournament in 2025 boasts a $3,000,000 prize pool, something teams around the world are all clamoring to compete for. Not all the qualification spots for Dota 2’s EWC are entirely determined yet, but every spot is at least allocated to a specific region.

Firstly, the champions of the Riyadh Masters 2024 and Asian Champions League both qualify directly to the event. On top of this, the top eight rated teams on the ESL Pro Tour Season 3: Leaderboard will also secure a spot in the EWC. 

Lastly, the event will also invite one team to represent each of these regions: West Europe, East Europe, MESWA, Southeast Asia, North America, and South America.

How to qualify for EA Sports FC 25 at the Esports World Cup?

EA Sports FC 25 will have a tournament at the Esports World Cup 2025 with a prize pool featuring a whopping $2,000,000. Specific qualification paths and event details have yet to be released by the EWC, and it remains to be seen if players from the FC Pro circuit will be seeded in or if separate qualifiers will be held.

How to qualify for Free Fire at the Esports World Cup?

The Esports World Cup Free Fire 2026 will be made up of three teams competing for $1,000,000. The teams will represent the two major regions for the title, LATAM and Pakistan. While the Free Fire Pakistan World Cup Qualifiers 2025 only sends the top team of 12 to the tournament, the Free Fire World Series - Latin America 2025: EWC Qualifier will send both its winner and runner-up to the Esports World Cup.

How to qualify for Honor of Kings at the Esports World Cup?

Participants of the $3,000,000 Honor of Kings World Cup 2025 are split into two groups, those starting in playoffs and the others who must battle it through the Group Stage. Two champion teams advance directly to playoffs, the winner of the KPL Spring Champions and the Asian Champions League Champions. 

Aside from these lucky two, the other teams will qualify through their respective regional leagues. The Philippines’ PKL, Malaysia’s MKL and Indonesia’s IKL will all send three teams as major regions, with other regions like Brazil, MENA, and Major West and East also sending teams. 

How to qualify for League of Legends at the Esports World Cup?

Hosted in July in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Esports World Cup 2025 for League of Legends brings together the top teams from around the globe. The LoL esports scene spans the entire globe, and all of these teams are welcome to qualify for the event through the official League of Legends circuits.

Firstly, T1 is already invited to the event as the EWC 2024 champion. Aside from this fan-favorite squad, two teams will also qualify through the LCK’s Road to MSI tournament, the second split of the LPL and LTA North/South will send two teams each, on top of the LEC Spring and LCP Mid Season, both of which also send two teams each. 

How to qualify for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang at the Esports World Cup?

The MLBB Mid Season Cup 2025 is a brand–new, mid-season international championship for the MLBB scene. The tournament is broken up into two stages, Groups and Wildcard; the Wildcard stage will see eight teams come together to compete for one Group Stage slot, completing the 16 teams for the main event. 

Qualifications directly to the Group Stage are reserved for champions of MLBB Pro Leagues, runner-ups in the top leagues too, and one spot is held for the winner of a China qualifier to the tournament. The MPL Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia will send their top two teams, while MPL Singapore, Cambodia, MENA, LATAM, Continental, Turkiye, Myanmar, and North America Challenger circuit send their top team. 

To enter the Wildcard stage for the EWC, teams will either need to finish as the runner-up for the MPL MENA, LATAM, or Continental, or be the champion of the Vietnamese VMC circuit or M Challenge Cup. The runner-up of the China qualifier will also qualify, alongside the winners of the EWC’s Japan and Mongolia qualifiers. Not only are they including their official regions, but MLBB is expanding to new exciting markets in coordination with the EWC.

How to qualify for Overwatch at the Esports World Cup?

For Overwatch, the Esports World Cup is hosting the Overwatch Champions Series 2025 Midseason Championship. Qualifying for this official Overwatch Champions Series tournament largely takes place through this circuit. For the EWC in 2025, the OWCS will send the top three teams from China, EMEA, and North America’s Stage 2 tournaments, as well as two teams from Asia Korea, and one team each from the Asia Japan and Asia Pacific circuits.

On top of these regional leaders, the winners of the international Overwatch Champions Series 2025 Champions Clash event, Crazy Racoon, qualified for the tournament already. For South American teams, which are not part of the OWCS, a single spot is open through the FACEIT League SA Master S5, and the EWC will also host a Last Chance Qualifier to determine the final team. 

How to qualify for PUBG at the Esports World Cup?

PUBG is among the confirmed titles for the Esports World Cup 2025, hosted in collaboration with PUBG's esports events host and their PGS series. Currently, there are no details as to how teams will qualify to the event, although the format will be Squads First-Person Perspective.

How to qualify for PUBG: Mobile at the Esports World Cup?

The PUBG Mobile World Cup 2025 is the official mid-season international event for the 2025 PUBGM esports season. Competing for a total $3,000,000, 24 teams will qualify for the tournament through a mix of official PUBG Mobile Super Leagues and various international tournaments.

The host country of the tournament receives a free invite slot, which went to Saudi Arabian esports organization R8 Esports. Aside from this, teams around the globe will qualify through the official PUBG Mobile Super Leagues (PMSL), or the PEL in China, and in some additional Asian countries like Japan and Korea, they will host their own qualification events directly to the EWC.

How to qualify for Rainbow 6 at the Esports World Cup?

For Rainbow Six, the Esports World Cup 2025 takes place on August 5–9, with $2,000,000 on the line. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege will see 16 teams take to the stage to battle it out, although the format for the event is yet to be announced. The qualifying teams for the EWC represent the largest official regions of the official BLAST R6 pro league.

How to qualify for Rocket League at the Esports World Cup?

Rocket League will be part of the Esports World Cup 2025 with $1,000,000 on offer for the best players. The EWC is yet to announce any details as to how teams will qualify to the EWC 2025; in the past, the EWC have directly invited teams to compete in their Rocket League tournaments.

How to qualify for StarCraft 2 at the Esports World Cup?

The Esports World Cup 2025 for StarCraft 2 features a robust format, with a Play-in Stage seeding additional teams to the main event Group Stage, where teams will compete for a spot in the single elimination quarterfinals games. The SC2 tournament is largely hosting its own qualifiers for most regions, although some existing tournaments have been brought in too. 

How to qualify for Street Fighter 6 at the Esports World Cup?

The Esports World Cup 2025 Street Fighter 6 event features almost 50 of the world’s best fighting game players coming together in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a shot at the total $1,000,000 prize pool. The champion of the EWC event will also qualify directly to the Capcom Cup 12, the upcoming official international major for the game. 

How to qualify for Teamfight Tactics at the Esports World Cup?

The TeamFight Tactics Esports World Cup 2025 follows on from its earlier appearances at the series and its predecessor, Gamers8. The game’s format is yet to be announced, but with $500,000 on the line, it’s a major event for the title.

On top of the reigning EWC champion being reinvited to the event, the remainder of the 16 total event slots are filled out by regional qualifier events taking place around the globe. From APAC to China to the Americas and EMEA, every part of the globe is covered for this exciting event.

How to qualify for Tekken 8 at the Esports World Cup?

Tekken 8 is another one of the fighting games represented at the Esports World Cup this year. The EWC 2025 Tekken 8 tournament features three phases, first with 32 players, then continuing with 16, and finally cutting it down to just two. With $1,000,000 on offer, players are qualifying for the tournament from around the globe through a mixture of third party events and EWC qualifiers

How to qualify for Valorant at the Esports World Cup?

In 2025, the EWC takes a big step forward with Valorant, officially linking up with the official Valorant Champions Tour series to bring the best teams from around the world together to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The tournament features a Group Stage format beginning on July 8, with the playoffs capping off the event from July 11-13. 

The Esports World Cup Valorant 2025 will invite the top two teams from each of the VCT major regions, as well as hosting additional qualifiers for each of the four regions. In total, each region will send four teams to complete the total 16. 

The road to the Esports World Cup 2025 is shaping up to be an exciting journey, with top teams from around the globe battling through qualifiers, league performances, and invitations to secure their place. As each game announces its specific path to the tournament, fans can look forward to high-stakes competition, rising underdogs, and returning champions all vying for glory. Esports Charts will cover viewership statistics of the Summer gaming festival as it takes place, so keep an eye on our socials, blog, or our newsletter!