Norwegian Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen won the maiden Esports World Cup chess tournament as he defeated Alireza Firouzja in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday.
World number one Carlsen claimed the $250,000 top prize and saw his Team Liquid sneak ahead in the overall championship after his win over Firouzja.
The prize pool of the tournament was $1.5 million.
‘It›s been an amazing show, unlike anything I›ve ever seen,’ Carlsen said just before lifting the trophy.
‘I really hope that this is a big part of the future for chess. Maybe we can get on a bigger stage next time,’ he added.
The inclusion of the board game in the esports tournament came after it experienced a significant revival during the pandemic.
Over a period of seven weeks, teams from around the world competed across 25 popular games, including Call of Duty, Street Fighter and League of Legends.
