Hikaru Nakamura finishes third, Arjun Erigaisi fourth
The time control for all games is 10 minutes with no increment. All players are allowed to wear noise-canceling headphones and also listen to their choice of music if they wish to. This is on par with all chess esports events. Apart from US$ 1.5 Million prize fund, the chess players are also part esports teams of a shared $27 Million prize fund. As per the rules of the tournament, the loser of a match gets their key crushed by their opponent.
"Yeah I feel like the semifinals really is where it kind of culminated. That was a super super difficult match and it really hinged on a couple of moves in the Armageddon. Apart from the first game of the second set today, I felt like I was a lot more in control. I probably lost the first game because I rushed a little bit too much but overall I would rather occasionally rush than hesitate too much. So I am not too unhappy about that but yeah overall I was happy that I was faster and better today." - Magnus Carlsen
Finals: Magnus Carlsen (Team Liquid) - Alireza Firouzja (Team Falcons): 2-0 (3-1, 3-1)
The Finals was a battle of best of three sets. Each set had four games and if needed the third set had two games, similar to tennis. GM Magnus Carlsen (Team Liquid) won the first set 3-1 where he won the first and fourth game, the remaining two ending in draws. GM Alireza Firouzja (Team Falcons) started the second set with a victory. However, he lost the next three games in-a-row to lose the second consecutive set and match. Thus, Carlsen won the inaugural Chess Esports World Cup 2025.
Arjun Erigaisi (Gen.G Esports) - Hikaru Nakamura (Team Falcons): 2.5-3.5
GM Arjun Erigaisi (Gen.G Esports) started with a win over GM Hikaru Nakamura (Team Falcons). The second game was a draw. Nakamura won the next two, before Arjun delivering the equalizer. The Speed King, Nakamura won the sixth game to win the match 2.5-3.5 and finish third.
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