Call of Duty: Warzone at 2025 Esports World Cup: Survival Guide

Same battle royale, new competitors

20 of the top teams in the world have claimed their spot through their respective regional qualifiers to compete at COD Warzone at EWC 25. The highest finishers last year, Team Falcons, Fnatic, and Twisted Minds, have all returned to compete on stage at the Qiddiya Esports Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this week.

However, Fnatic and Twisted Minds have filled their three-man rosters with new faces. Fnatic are competing under a completely new lineup, while Twisted Minds had Aydan “Aydan” Conrad briefly leave the team and rejoin in April 2025, and went through one roster change: Benjamin “Almond” Rosendahl replaced Aidan “Knight” Provenzano.

The 21 participating teams will be split into three groups of seven. After the group stage, the seven top-performing teams will qualify directly for the finals. The remaining teams will head to the Last Chance stage – a six-match gauntlet that offers one final shot at redemption. The seven highest-scoring teams from this stage will also advance to the finals.

The finals will use a match point format. Teams will compete to surpass a point threshold, which is yet to be determined. Once a team crosses that mark, they must secure a match win to cement their place in Esports World Cup history. The group stage kicks off on August 6th at 6 PM KSA.

Can Team Falcons call themselves the best in the world once again?

Team Falcons, the 2024 Esports World Cup Call of Duty: Warzone champions, return to Riyadh with the same roster. Retaining the championship lineup of Andrew “Biffle” Diaz, Kasimili “Hisoka” Tongamoa, and Hunter “Shifty” Pendygraft, they have continued to place no lower than 2nd since their title win last year.

To reiterate some of their achievements from last year’s run: they not only won all their matches in the group stage, but also racked up 137 total kills in the finals. With 20 new and familiar challengers this time around, will they continue to assert dominance at EWC 2025 and call themselves world champions for the second year in a row?

Can 100 Thieves take what's not given?

100 Thieves has qualified for COD Warzone at EWC 25 and are fielding a roster you should keep an eye on. It consists of Gabe “Gabekunn” Kunn and Logan “Skullface” Greifelt, led by a long time Call of Duty veteran, Rasim “Blazt” Ogresevic.

Blazt and his squad dominated the North American qualifier, finishing in first place with 145 kills and four first-place finishes. It was a standout performance given the high-level competition from teams like Twisted Minds and Virtus.pro.

Rebirth Island is the stage once again for the best teams from around the world to compete for championship glory and for a bigger piece of the $1 million prize pool.

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!