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Arjun Erigaisi eyes Rs 1.26 crore mega prize against Nakamura at Esports World Cup: ‘Happy there's a third-place match'
India's Arjun Erigaisi can still earn a mega prize money of Rs 1.27 crore despite losing his semi-finals at the Esports World Cup 2025. Image: Esports World Cup 2025
India's top contender, Arjun Erigaisi, suffered a semi-final defeat in the chess tournament at Esports World Cup 2025 on Thursday, but the 21-year-old Grandmaster from Warangal can still earn a mega prize of $145,000 (approximately Rs 1.26 crore). Erigaisi will be competing against the world No.2 Hikaru Nakamura in the third-place playoff on Friday.
Nakamura lost to world No.1 Magnus Carlsen in a high-stakes semi-final in which the five-time world champion was also seen asking the supporters to shut their mouths as they cheered his defeat in one of the games.
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Erigaisi eyes mega Rs 1.26 crore prize money
One of the best players in faster formats, Erigaisi suffered a semi-final defeat to French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja 4-1 in Riyadh. In a best-of-six tie, chess prodigy Firouzja won the first, third and fifth games to storm into the final, and set up a summit clash against Carlsen.
'Yeah, he played really well,' Erigaisi told Take Take Take, analysing his defat. 'And I also missed some of my opportunities. Although this match didn't go well, I am really happy with the tournament. The tournament is really good.
'I definitely wouldn't want to go home on this painful note, so I'm happy there's a third-place match.'
Earlier in the day, Erigaisi had beaten Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi 2.5-1.5 in the quarter-finals.
Even if he loses to Nakamura, Erigaisi is guaranteed to take home at least $115,000 (approximately Rs 1 crore).
India's Nihal Sarin loses to Carlsen
Meanwhile, India's Nihal Sarin bagged $85,000 (approximately Rs 74 lakh) by reaching the quarter-finals, where he lost to Carlsen.
'I'm just very happy to play against Magnus; he's my biggest inspiration. It's my first time getting to play him in a match,' an excited Sarin said despite losing to Carlsen.
The final between Carlsen and Firouzja will also be played on Friday. The winner of the first-ever chess final at an Esports World Cup will be handed a whopping prize money of $25,00,000 (approximately Rs 2.17 crore).
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