EWC 2025 Week 1 Champions Recap

The first week of Esports World Cup 2025 concluded with epic finals in Rennsport, FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves, VALORANT, and Apex Legends. As the second week kicks off, it’s the perfect time to catch up on the Club Championship leaderboard.

Of these Club Championship ranking leaders, Gen.G is the organization competing in the most titles, with 10 teams participating throughout the Esports World Cup. That gives them a better chance of finishing the entire event with a higher ranking.

Other organizations, including Team Redline and VK Gaming, are only competing in one tournament, making it unlikely they’ll remain high on the Club Championship ranking beyond the first week of competition. Stay tuned for next week’s ranking.

Club of the Week Award

Coming into the Esports World Cup 2025, Team Redline entered as title defenders. Every other squad wanted to leave them in the dust – but none could. The storied organization continued to write their names in history, building one of the first EWC dynasties.

Team Redline is the Club of the Week.

Player of the Week Award

After falling behind 2-0 in the VALORANT at EWC 25 finals, Team Heretics’ Mert "Wo0t" Alkan became the spark that lit a fiery comeback. His electrifying plays on Icebox – where he had an incredible 26-kill statline – and Haven gave his squad hope, turning the tide and shattering Fnatic’s chances at tournament glory.

Wo0t is this week’s Player of the Week.

Team Redline earns back-to-back trophies

Team Redline made history on July 11th by becoming the first EWC 25 champions and the first back-to-back winners of Rennsport at the tournament, after also taking home the 2024 edition trophy. The racing squad dominated track after track, defeating teams like Porsche Coanda and Team Vitality before crossing the finish line.

Luke Bennett from Team Redline became the Sony MVP thanks to his multiple podium finishes, taking home an extra $10,000 in addition to his share of Team Redline’s $200,000 prize. This victory added another major achievement to Team Redline’s 20-year legacy.

GO1 makes DetonatioN FocusMe proud

Meanwhile, Goichi "GO1" Kishida represented DetonatioN FocusMe well with Kain against Zeng "Xiaohai" Zhuojun’s Billy in the grand final of FATAL FURY: COTW at EWC 25. He earned $300,000 and cemented his place in history. Although GO1 was a strong contender going into the tournament, he was not the favorite to win. However, he proved every doubter wrong by combining his signature defensive style with instinct to take out Xiaohai.

Team Heretics rises together for epic reverse sweep

Team Heretics earned the trophy for VALORANT at EWC 2025 after a reverse sweep against Fnatic. The tournament was tough, with early exits from top teams like G2 and 100 Thieves. After placing last at VCT Masters Toronto, Team Heretics regrouped with something to prove. In-game leader Mert "Wo0t" Alkan led their comeback in the finals, which also resulted in his own MVP award of $10,000 in extra prize money.

VK Gaming goes from great to greatest

Closing out the first week of finals was VK Gaming taking the crown at the ALGS Midseason Playoffs at EWC 2025. VK Gaming weren’t the favorites compared to teams like Alliance, Team Falcons, and Ninjas in Pyjamas, but they had resilience and consistency on their side while under pressure.

This victory earned the team an impressive $600,000 and a spot in the upcoming ALGS Championship in Sapporo. It also put the APAC South region firmly in the spotlight as a region that should never be underestimated. As the Sony MVP, Chen "QQ" Yin-hong also earned a $10,000 bonus.

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!