Nihal Sarin qualifies for Esports World Cup 2025 through Last Chance Qualifier, joins Arjun Erigaisi in the main event
After failing to qualify at EWC through the two qualifiers, Nihal had to play through the Last Chance Qualifier in Riyadh, where he reached the finals of the Winner's Bracket after beating Russia's Andrey Esipenko, thus qualifying for the main event.
Apart from Nihal, Anish Giri, Javokhir Sindarov and Levon Aronian also qualified for the EWC to complete the 16-player field for the main event. Nihal, representing Indian esports organisation S8UL, will now take on Sindarov in the final of the LCQ.
GM R. Praggnanandhaa came agonisingly close to qualifying for the EWC but Anish Giri handed him a tough loss in the Armageddon in their match-up.
Earlier, 12 players were finalised in the EWC roster for chess through the two-leg Champions Chess Tour 2025. Five-time world champion and world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, world No. 3 and popular Twitch and YouTube streamer Hikaru Nakamura and reigning co-world blitz champion Ian Nepomniachtchi qualified for EWC after finishing in the top three of CCT's first event, the Chessable Masters, which was played in February.
Nine other players, including Arjun confirmed their spots through the second leg of CCT, the Chess.com Classic 2025.
The Esports World Cup brings together top esports clubs across 24 popular titles. EWC 2025 is happening in Riyadh from July 7 to August 24, featuring chess as an online event for the first time. The inaugural 2024 edition spanned eight weeks, while the 2025 event will be history's largest multi-title esports tournament with 2,000+ players, 200+ teams, and a $70 million (≈₹602 crore) prize pool.
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