The 2025 Esports World Cup concluded on July 20 with
Gen.G defeating Anyone’s Legend—competing under the AG.AL banner—in the grand final. While the tournament is still relatively new and has yet to win over most of the
League of Legends esports community, its prize pool is undeniably massive: $2,000,000 split among the twelve participating teams, matching that of the Mid-Season Invitational. MSI, now in its 11th edition,
was also won by Gen.G earlier this year in Vancouver.
And that $2 million MSI prize pool is a very recent development—until 2024, the tournament awarded just $250,000 in total, with only $50,000 going to the champion. That’s less than what teams like Cloud9 and GAM Esports earned at the EWC 2025, where they each took home $55,000 despite playing only two BO1s in the Play-In stage. For comparison, JD Gaming and Gen.G received just $50,000 for winning MSI in 2023 and 2024.
A prize pool for all
All teams participating in the EWC received a share of the $2 million prize pool based on their performance in the tournament:
| Team | Prize (%) | Prize ($) |
|---|
| Gen.G | 30% | 600,000 |
| Anyone's Legend | 16% | 320,000 |
| T1 | 11.5% | 230,000 |
| G2 Esports | 8% | 160,000 |
| HLE/BLG/KOI/Fly | 5.5% | 110,000 |
| CFO/FURIA | 3.75% | 75,000 |
| GAM/Cloud9 | 2.5% | 50,000 |
In terms of pure cash prize, winning the EWC is more profitable for organizations than winning MSI. On top of that, the League of Legends tournament also awards points starting from 8th place—points that contribute to the overall leaderboard across all games featured at the Esports World Cup. With a total prize pool of $27 million, the top-ranked organization will take home $7 million, the second $4 million, and the third $3 million.
Massive figures that can significantly impact the daily operations and future of the clubs able to capitalize on this event. The combined prize pool for the tournament—including the EWC Club Championship, Game Championships, MVP Awards, and EWC Qualifiers—exceeds $70,450,000 USD.
The Esports World Cup has a bright future ahead, with editions already confirmed for 2026 and 2027. Several titles are set to return, including Riot Games' trio—
League of Legends,
Teamfight Tactics, and
VALORANT—as well as
Call of Duty and
Street Fighter 6. Additional games like
PUBG,
Tekken 8, and
Counter Strike 2 are also confirmed, though for the 2026 edition only.
Header Photo Credit: Esports World Cup
