One of the most anticipated events at the Esports World Cup 2025 was held over the festival’s first two weeks, pitting some of the world’s best teams against each other. This Dota 2 tournament, held in the balmy climes of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, hit a higher peak than the previous year’s edition, led by the supreme performances of its victor.
The Esports World Cup 2025 for Dota 2 was held over ten days, with $3 million on offer as the prize pool, apart from crucial Club Championship points. It also signified the end of the third season of the ESL Pro Tour, which in the preceding years had been held as the Riyadh Masters.
The Grand Final was fought between the two best sides, Team Spirit and Team Falcons, with the former emerging as the champion in dominant fashion. It emerged as the championship's only game to cross the 400,000 Peak Viewers (PV) mark while beating the mark set at last year’s inaugural EWC festival by just over 10,300 viewers.
Team Spirit’s 3:0 sweep saw it walk away with $1 million and 1,000 EWC Club Championship points, capping off a commanding journey that saw it lose only one map en route to the championship trophy. With another Russian side, PARIVISION, finishing third, the continuous support from back home helped make the language the most popular at this tournament.
All three of Team Spirit’s Playoffs matches made the most popular games table, with its Russian derby against PARIVISION in the Semifinals emerging as the event’s second-best entry by peak live viewers. Team Falcons also enjoyed crucial home support, as seen in the fact that this Dota 2 tournament's two most popular clashes involved the Saudi Arabian esports organization.
Looking at all the completed events in the EWC 2025 so far, the Dota 2 tournament is among the five most popular ones. Leading the table is the Esports World Cup 2025 for League of Legends, which remains the only entry to hit one million peak concurrent viewers. It is also the second most watched entry, behind the LoL competition.
However, among only the Dota 2 competitions held this year, the EWC tops the charts and is one of the only two entries to have done more than 400,000 PV. The landmark DreamLeague Season 25, one of the series’ most popular events in years, is the only other event to do so, and it also has Russian viewers to thank for this milestone.
As Team Spirit continues to dominate the Dota 2 esports scene after overcoming almost a year-long trophy drought, the focus shifts to the biggest tournament of the year. The International 2025 will be held in Hamburg, Germany, from September 1 to 14, and the teams will have to figure out how to solve the Team Spirit puzzle over the next month and a half.
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