In the build-up to the Esports World Cup, we’ve seen loads of announcements, but one of the most exciting parts of the event is the Club Championship. Organizers have finally shed a bit more light on how the EWC Club Championship is going to work and its changes from the 2024 version. It’s got an enormous prize pool and will highlight the Clubs with the best performances across competitive gaming.
When all of the EWC games tournaments kick off later this year, a Club Championship will be held alongside them. This will be a tournament format that allows clubs to gain points across the events. It’s a way of deciding which club is the overall best, the champion of the Esports World Cup. How will it all work?
EWC Club Championship 2025
One of the most exciting parts of the Esports World Cup last year was the Club Championship, a special program to reward teams who excel in multiple areas of esports. It’s back this year, but there’s been some changes to the EWC Club Championship this year.
Teams that are competing in multiple games will earn points for a cross-game leaderboard. They’ll then get access to an extra prize pool, going primarily to clubs that have won multiple games. There have been a few changes this year, including with the program expanding.
EWC Club Championship Teams
Source: Esports World Cup
Loads of different clubs are going to be able to take part this year, with the full roster expanded out to 40 teams. 32 of these are coming from teams signing up with 8 going to the top 8 finishing teams last year. The teams so far are:
- 100 Thieves
- All Gamers
- Bilibili Gaming
- Cloud9
- Edward Gaming
- EVOS Esports
- FURIA
- FaZe Clan
- Natic
- G2 Esports
- Gaimin Gladiators
- Gen.G Esports
- Gentle Mates
- HEROIC
- JD Gaming
- KOI
- Karmine Corp
- LOUD
- Leviatán
- MOUZ
- Natus Vincere
- Ninjas in -Pyjamas
- ONIC
- POWR
- REJECT
- Rex Regum Qeon
- S8UL Esports
- Sentinels
- T1
- Team BDS
- Team Falcons
- Team Liquid
- Team Secret
- Team Spirit
- Team Vitality
- Twisted Minds
- Virtus.pro
- Weibo Gaming
- Wolves Esports
- ZETA DIVISION
Other teams have had to sign up to take part. To take part, they have to announce their titles and rosters by May 15th, or May 31st for EA FC 2025 and Apex Legends.
One major change for 2025 is some extra restrictions on teams. Joint venture teams are no longer eligible, which is when a team is fielded by more than one org. Rosters will also need an aligned name in the EWC. The EWC prize pool has also increased significantly though! These extra restrictions aren’t the only change.
Image Credit: Esports World Cup Foundation
How Does it Work?
The EWC Club Championship this year will see extra points dealt out for each game at the World Cup. Teams will receive points when finishing in the top 8 of games. These points contribute to overall club standings, with an extra prize pool going to clubs that finish high. To win the Championship overall though, teams not only need to come top with the points but they have to win 1 tournament as well.
Prize Pool
That’s how the EWC Club Championship will work, but what exactly is at stake? There’s $27,000,000 going to be distributed as part of the Club Championship Program. The exact split isn’t announced yet, but $7,000,000 alone will be going to the wining team! A huge boost even on top of the prize pool for individual EWC games that are running.
EWC Club Championship 2024
How did the Club Championship work last year? It was similar, as a reward built for teams who perform in multiple games.
Source: Esports World Cup
Club Championships have a few requirements to take part in this part of the tournament. They’ll need to get to Top 8 in two different competitions. To win, they’ll have needed to win at least one event on top of that. Aside from winning one, they’ll gain points for placement across the entire event.
This is how the point system breaks down for the rankings:
- 1st – 1000
- 2nd – 600
- 3rd – 350
- 4th – 200
- 5th – 110
- 6th – 70
- 7th – 40
- 8th – 20
These points will decide where each club sits on the overarching leaderboard. In the event of a tie, there’s some interesting rules that come into play too. First, whichever team has won more individual events will decide it. In the unlikely case that these are also exactly equal, organizers will look at all the times these two clubs faced each other head-to-head in the full Esports World Cup schedule. Then, they’ll use these results to decide the victor.
With these rules, any group stage match between clubs could end up having huge importance in the future.
What’s the Prize?
Each individual tournament at the World Cup has its own prize pool, but the EWC Club Championship is on another level. There’s a huge $20,000,000 in total being given away!
Source: Esports World Cup
The EWC Club Championship is a huge boost to the overall tournament. We’re looking at an extra $20 million in prize money being given away here. It’s going to make sure every tournament at the Esports World Cup is vital for those taking part.