VALORANT Pro ANGE1 teases Esports World Cup participation in Saudi Arabia

The Esports World Cup (EWC) returns for its second iteration in the summer of 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event was first held in 2024 and featured an immensely long list of games that boast the biggest esports scenes. Counter-Strike 2, Apex Legends, Rocket League, Dota2, Fortnite, Rainbow Six: Siege, League of Legends. It's likely that if you'd name a video game with a well-established esports scene it was bound to have had its event at the EWC in 2024. After all, who doesn't want a slice of the $60 million prize pool.

VALORANT's Notable Absence

VALORANT did not feature at the event in Saudi Arabia last year. Whether it was due to the conflicting VCT and EWC calendars, concerns over Saudi Arabia's policies towards the LGBTIQA+ community, or a plethora of different possible reasons, VALORANT's strong presence in the esports space made it seem odd that it was not on the list. This effect was amplified by Riot Games fielding its two other esports—Teamfight Tactics and League of Legends—at the event in Riyadh last year.

First Claims Surface

The situation may change this year. A report from Mikhail Klimentov on his blog ReaderGrev in December of last year claims he got a hold of an internal document confirming VALORANT's inclusion at the EWC 2025. Furthermore, the blog alleges that the document details Teamfight Tactics and League of Legends returning to the event organized by the Saudis this summer.

An anonymous Riot Games spokesperson has given more information on the topic within the blog as well. Claiming for example that the VCT Game Changers would not make the cut in 2025's edition of the EWC.

At the time of writing, there are 19 esports and events announced on the EWS home page. None of the Riot Games titles are present. However, there are 5 tabs remaining with a countdown timer below each that should reveal more esports and events in due time.

ANGE1 hints at participation at the EWC

In an exclusive interview with Natus Vincere's in-game leader Kirill "ANGE1" Karasiow, the experienced esports professional has claimed they may be participating at the event in Saudi Arabia this year.

Having been asked what he thought of the changes to the VALORANT Champions Tour schedule this season, ANGE1 responded:

I'm not sure something changed from the previous year. Right now, Riot announced that it's going to be a kind of "summer break." But in reality, it's just a time for the EWC (Esports World Cup) tournament, right? In Saudi. That's all. It's like, we're just getting one more tournament. So, I don't know. We'll see. But for me, nothing has changed.

Make sure to check out the full interview with ANGE1.

Conflicting Timelines

The aforementioned "summer break" is hard to place, however. The event in Riyadh has a rather broad timeline of "July-August" with no information visible to the public on the a specific schedule for the esports events. Meanwhile for VALORANT, VCT teams in the Americas, China, EMEA, and Pacific participate in Stage 2 (commonly referred to as "Split 2") during those exact months. The dates of Stage 2 on the official VALORANT Esports website claim this to be July 3-August 31. This would mean the EWC and VCT potentially clash.

Whether VALORANT’s presence at the Esports World Cup is viable given this overlap remains uncertain and could become a major talking point if it is confirmed as one of the esports.

Despite that, Kirill's comment adds another piece of evidence to the claim that VALORANT will be present at the big event in the Middle East this summer. However, it's still probably worth waiting for the countdown timer to expire on the official EWS website to see whether we will witness VCT professionals at the Esports World Cup this year.

For more news on VALORANT, stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG.

Featured image credit: Esports World Cup