DreamHack Dallas Hosts Chess Tournament As Qualifying Path For 2025 Esports World Cup
Another path to the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) has now been revealed. Chess players can compete at the DreamHack festival in Dallas from May 23 to 25 for four spots at the EWC Last Chance Qualifier and a share of the $20,000 prize fund.
The tournament is open to professional and amateur players attending the DreamHack festival at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas. Players must complete an online registration by May 16 to participate:
DreamHack, organized by the German-French company ESL FACEIT Group, is the leading global gaming lifestyle festival. From its humble beginning as a local gathering for gamers in the early 1990s, DreamHack has grown to become the world's largest digital festival. Each edition attracts tens of thousands of fans and features everything gaming—from esports competitions to live concerts to cosplaying.
Now, chess players have yet another reason to attend the festival. Chess.com and EWC have partnered to run a chess tournament at DreamHack Dallas.
The event will consist of four Swiss qualifiers followed by an eight-player double-elimination bracket. All games will be in the rapid 10+0 time control and played on computers at the festival, with the finals taking place on a stage.
Then, four finalists will earn an all-expense-paid trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to play in the EWC Last Chance Qualifier later this year. There, players will have one last opportunity to join the $1.5 million chess event at this year's Esports World Cup.
This is the first time chess will be a part of the EWC, which will take place from July 29 to August 1, also in Riyadh. Since news broke out that chess would be a part of the event, several grandmasters have signed contracts with different esports organizations.
Among them are GMs Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Ian Nepomniachtchi, who all have already guaranteed their spots at the EWC through the Champions Chess Tour. The remaining spots are up for grabs through the second leg of the Champions Chess Tour and the Last Chance Qualifier.
Who do you think will qualify for this year's Esports World Cup? Let us know in the comments below!
