The Esports World Cup has announced a free-to-play fantasy league where fans can compete for big cash prizes.
The fantasy games will have a bigger prize pool than some esports tournaments, with $200k (£145k) being offered in total.
The prize money will be split between two fantasy games, though the prize allocation and grand prizes have not yet been confirmed.
This is the second iteration of the Esports World Cup, with this year’s edition sporting a record-breaking prize pool of $70m (£51m).
That’s a $10m (£7.3m) increase from the previous year’s event, which featured over 500 teams and over 1,500 esports pros.
The first is a Pick’ems game where fans predict the top eight in every esports tournament at the event.
And the other is a Fantasy League reminiscent of fantasy football, where viewers can draft teams of players to earn points.
Away from the fantasy games, you can also bet on the Esports World Cup games on the best esports betting sites.
How does the Esports World Cup Fantasy League work?
Both of the Esports World Cup Pick’Ems and the Fantasy League are free to play but require players to create an account.
The Pick’Ems stage has already begun as players can predict the top eight for all 24 esports titles at this year’s event.
Though at the time of writing, it’s too early to make predictions for Rainbow Six Siege X, Rocket League, and Crossfire.
To play, participants simply go to each tournament and drag across the esports clubs they think will finish in the top eight.
Players pick the order of the teams, and the website shows a percentage of how many participants have selected each club.
Predictions have to be locked in before each tournament starts, so it’s best to check the Esports World Cup 2025 full schedule.
As for the Fantasy League, that will only be available for five esports titles.
Those are League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, Dota 2, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
Not many details have been shared on these leagues yet, including when they will become playable.
However, the Esports World Cup Foundation says players can draft rosters, then trade and adjust their line-ups.
Assumedly, this will be separate for each esports title.
It also hasn’t been announced how the scoring for each league will count, but players will be able to track stats on the website.
This year’s event begins in early July.
The Esports World Cup has caused controversy in the ALGS and other esports events, causing players to drop out.
The event has come under scrutiny with accusations of sport-washing from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and questions over the country’s human rights record.
In my seven years of esports writing, I’ve introuduced esports coverage to newspapers, interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry, and driven viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I’m most proud of the latter.
