The 2025 edition of the Esports World Cup (EWC) is about to reach its climax with the Counter-Strike 2 event set to begin on August 20th.

The event arrives with a brutal format and a massive $1,250,000 prize pool. The best teams in the world are all in attendance, and the CS results could have enormous ramifications for the wider Esports World Cup Club Championship.

The Best Teams in the World Head to Riyadh

With invites for the event going out using the 2 June Valve Regional Standings, the top 15 teams in the world on that date will all be in attendance.

Plenty of eyes will be on Falcons, who will enter the event having had weeks of practice with their new player Maxim “kyousuke” Lukin, following their decision to skip BLAST Bounty Season 2. The youngster performed comparatively well in his debut tournament at IEM Cologne, despite Falcons’ group-stage exit.

There will also be a heavy focus on Vitality, who have an easier route to the final on paper.

On the other side of the bracket, you’ll be able to see MOUZ, Spirit, and Falcons fighting it out.

Falcons will first have to avoid an upset against a strong-looking G2 team, whilst Spirit may have a potentially awkward clash against HEROIC, given that they are reportedly signing their star man, Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich.

Esports World Cup Format is Brutal Yet Intriguing

With almost every other tournament in the Counter-Strike circuit utilizing either a Swiss or double-elimination GSL format, the Esports World Cup’s unforgiving single-elimination bracket poses a unique risk for favorites, and a stark opportunity for underdogs.

With no room to slip up, there are plenty of chances for the top teams to find themselves on a flight home far sooner than they might have expected.

G2 has already pushed Spirit far harder than expected in BLAST Bounty, so it would be unsurprising to see them go one step further versus Falcons.

Astralis could also be a threat with dev1ce’s return to form, and a stellar win over NAVI at BLAST. However, their first round opponent is a TYLOO team that recently defeated them twice at FISSURE Playground 1.

Falcons, Vitality and Team Liquid All in the Hunt

The overarching narrative of the Esports World Cup is the Club Championship, an opportunity for organisations to prove themselves over multiple titles and win the lion’s share of a whopping $27,000,000.

Team Liquid currently tops the standings, with Falcons and Vitality not far behind them.

With plenty of tournaments yet to be played, the standings could still change drastically. Still, the 1,000 points up for grabs for winning the CS2 event could ultimately decide the championship’s overall winner.