European esports organisation Team Secret has officially signed chess grandmaster Anish Giri ahead of the 2025 Esports World Cup.
Image Credit: Team Secret
The Chess Grandmaster will be competing for Team Secret during the 2025 Esports World Cup and the second leg of the Champions Chess Tour leading up to the tournament.
Currenly ranked 18th in the global ladder, Giri has been a grandmaster since an early game. With the Esports World Cup Chess tournament added this year, several grandmasters, including Magnus Carlssen, have joined forces with different esports teams to compete under their banner. Team Secret were one of the latest to announce their move.
Aside from competing for glory, the Chess tournament will feature a $1,500,000 prizepool between the top participants, as well as earn points for the Club championship that will give extra bonuses to the best esports organizations, with the winner taking home $7,000,000.
Aside from expanding into Chess, Team Secret will be looking to make the most out of the existing game titles the organization competes in, including Dota 2, VALORANT, Rocket League, Honor of Kings, Rainbow Six Siege, and League of Legends.
Last month, the team was announced as part of the 40 clubs in the Esports World Cup Partner program, the financial incentive programme created by the Esports World Cup Foundation to support sustainability in the esports space. On top of the support, the Esports World Cup in 2025 will have a record-breaking $70,000,000 prize pool across its 25 game titles, the highest an esports event has ever given.
“We’ve always looked for talent that’s not only world-class but also forward-thinking. Anish is that and more. He’s a brilliant competitor and also a hilarious and winning personality. We’re beyond excited to have him on board,” said John Yao, CEO of Team Secret.
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