May 23, 2025.
From S.W.A.T. crime fighters to Navy Seal marines to Hidden Dragon undercover agents, mercenaries from all corners of the world are ready to prove what made them worthy of joining these elite forces — even if it means taking out each other.
CROSSFIRE, one of the most storied esports ever, is joining the EWC 2025 lineup! The Smilegate-developed series dates back to 2007 and was first released in South Korea before exploding in popularity across Asia, South America, and beyond! Now the best CROSSFIRE teams from across the world will grace the EWC stage to duke it out and decide the first-ever EWC Crossfire champion!
The CROSSFIRE esports scene is flush with hungry teams from around the globe, but the very best are based in China and Brazil.
At the CROSSFIRE Stars 2024 in December, these two regions met in the Grand Finals in what turned out to be an elite showcase of style and skill. Ultimately, China’s Evolution Power narrowly defeated Brasil’s Vasco eSports in a 3-2 result to claim the title of CROSSFIRE World Champions! The failure, however, has only fueled Brasil’s desire for revenge at EWC 2025 later this year.
Other top teams hail from Vietnam, the Philippines, and EMEA. So no matter what region you find yourself rooting for, you can expect there to be a team repping you at EWC 2025.
For those unfamiliar with the game itself, fans of tactical shooters like VALORANT and Counter-Strike will feel right at home with CROSSFIRE’s mechanics and pacing. With fluid movement, living in a land where headshots are king, CROSSFIRE emphasizes precision, positioning, and gun skill above all else. So strap in for some high-paced gun duels, because there will be plenty of those on display!
EWC CROSSFIRE will take place August 19-23, with invites going out regionally to 16 different teams.
We’ll kick the contest off with a double elimination group stage consisting of 20 matches in total. The eight teams that survive will advance to a single-elimination playoff bracket. Whoever can survive the gauntlet and lock in the Grand Finals victory will go down in history as the first-ever EWC CROSSFIRE world champion!
Coming in at $2,000,000 USD, the EWC Crossfire prize pool is one of the largest in the history of CROSSFIRE esports. For context, teams competed for $1,430,000 USD at last year’s CrossFire Stars World Championship event, so with more to play for the stakes are higher than ever before!
The Esports World Cup is a global celebration of competitive excellence and esports fandom. Making its return to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2025, the annual Esports World Cup features a unique cross-game format that pits the world’s top esports Clubs and more than 1,500 players against one another for a share of the largest prize pool in esports history.
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© 2026 Esports World Cup All rights reserved.