After several months of waiting, Savvy Games Group, the people behind the Esports World Cup 2025, finally announced the event’s format. We finally know the days when the best Dota 2 teams in the world will go head to head.
According to the press release, the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 will take place between July 8 and 19, 2025. The tournament will give us access to 16 teams, who will compete for a jaw-dropping prize pool of $3 million. You probably want to know more, so let’s go through all the information we have.
Image Credit: Savvy Games Group
Dota 2’s Schedule, Prize Pool and Format at the EWC 2025
The 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four teams each, which will play in a round-robin format. Once the matches are over, the best team from each group will advance to the playoffs, whereas the others will be seeded into the Gauntlet Bracket (based on their results).
Speaking of the Gauntlet Bracket will have 12 teams, and only the top four will advance to the playoffs. The finals will consist of eight teams and will be played in a single-elimination bracket.
Alongside the $3M tournament prize pool, the Esports World Cup 2025’s MVP will receive $10,000. Besides the prize pool, several teams also have access to the Esports World Cup Partner Program 2025 . The 40 teams there will receive six-figure base funding, as well as additional revenue from campaigns, activities, counties, and more.
But that’s not all because teams can learn money from the EWC 2025 Club Championship. The organization that wins this event will get a jaw-dropping reward of $7 million.
EWC Teams & Qualifiers
Before we get the chance to see some of the best Dota 2 teams at the EWC 2025, w’ll have to follow the qualifiers. The event will feature Online Qualifiers, Open Qualifiers, and Closed Qualifiers.
The Online Qualifiers will take place between June 1 and 3, and the winners of each region will advance to the 2025 Esports World Cup. The Open Qualifiers will be between June 3 and 4, and the best-performing team from each region will advance to the Closed Qualifier. Dota 2 fans interested in the latter can watch the action in WEU and NA between June 5 and 7, whereas MESWA and SEA will play between June 8 and 10. Finally, we have EEU and SA, which will be between June 11 and 13.
Aside from the teams from the qualifiers, EWC 2025 will also include the defending champions, the Gaimin Gladiators. Moreover, the top 8 teams in the EPT Tour Ranking as of June 1 will also receive a direct invitation.
The Esports World Cup is organized in collaboration by Savvy Games Group and ESL FACEIT. Both are a part of the Saudi Arabian PIF, the sovereign wealth fund of the Saudi Arabian state.
Don’t forget to follow Esports.net for info on the EWC!