Aug 09, 2025.
14 teams dropped onto Rebirth Island. Only one emerged. Twisted Minds took the COD Warzone at EWC 25 trophy after a thrilling final. Congratulations to the local club on their first EWC 25 first-place finish.
Leading into the finals, Team Falcons and Virtus.pro were the two tournament favorites to take home the $250,000 first-place prize, as their performances felt like night and day compared to everyone else in the competition. Everything got turned upside down, as things normally do in battle royales, when the 14 finalists dropped into Rebirth Island for the final.
A different local club rose to the occasion after ten matches were played on the final day of competition. Twisted Minds stole the victory from every other team in a surprising upset that puts them right back in the mix for the Club Championship.
Twisted Minds began the finals on strong footing, nearly taking a win from the jaws of defeat as the local squad and Virtus.pro were the final two teams remaining. It wasn't meant to be as the American and Mexican squad secured the opening win, setting themselves up for what everyone thought would be another dominant performance.
The path to the trophy would be anything but easy in Riyadh. While Virtus.pro and Twisted Minds were the first to gain match point eligibility, several more teams would soon follow as neither could secure their victory. Team Falcons, who won EWC 24 by winning back-to-back matches to secure a match point victory, were on the verge of doing the same a year later. Luckily for Twisted Minds, that didn't happen.
Five teams eventually passed the 135-point threshold, including Gentle Mates and 100 Thieves. The stakes couldn’t have been higher, as any one of these five teams could have etched their names into history with a win.
Twenty-four kills and a first-place finish secured Twisted Minds’ fate as COD Warzone at EWC 25 champions. The win is extra sweet for Aydan "Aydan" Conrad and Riley "zSmit" Smith, both of whom competed on the same roster last year. The addition of Benjamin "Almond" Rosendahl pushed the squad over the hump.
SONY MVP
Twisted Minds player zSmit's stellar and bloodthirsty performance across all 10 matches of the COD Warzone at EWC 25 final earned him the honor of SONY MVP. The American will take home an additional $10,000 in prize money for helping his team achieve the ultimate victory.
This is a pivotal victory for the Saudi Arabian club as it both rockets them up the standings and qualifies them for the overall Club Championship. Twisted Minds now sits in fifth place on the leaderboard with five competitions left to participate in.
With hundreds of matches set to take place over the next few days, new legends will rise as champions are crowned and rivals are toppled. Watch the Esports World Cup 2025 live or check out the ticket options to watch in-person this week!