Magnus Carlsen set to ditch Grand Chess Tour for $1.5M Esports World Cup
Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Alireza Firouzja are set to skip the Grand Chess Tour to compete in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. Nakamura confirmed on his stream that all three players have chosen the EWC over the GCT series, despite no schedule changes to either event.
The decision highlights the growing prize pools and prestige of esports competitions. Carlsen, who won the inaugural Chess tournament at the Esports World Cup last year, claimed $250,000 from the tournament’s substantial prize pool and automatically qualifies for this year’s event as the reigning champion. The move signals a significant shift in how top competitive chess players are prioritizing major tournaments, with the newly established Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia successfully attracting elite talent away from traditional chess circuits.