Twenty-two players arrived in Paris chasing one of the newest major prizes in chess. By the end, the Esports World Cup had produced a final that looked both predictable and completely unexpected.
Magnus Carlsen, the defending champion and safest pick in almost any speed-chess event, was there again. Across from him sat Denis Lazavik, the 19-year-old Belarusian who had spent the week eliminating bigger names and steadily turning our pre-tournament dark-horse pick into something much more serious. In the final, though, the surprise stopped. Carlsen won 2–0 to defend his title, putting a familiar name back on top after a tournament that had provided plenty of unfamiliar results along the way.
The Familiar Name at the Top
Carlsen's path through Paris rarely felt complicated. He moved through the group stage and then dispatched Nihal Sarin in the quarterfinals before meeting Alireza Firouzja in one of the tournament's most anticipated matches, a rematch of last year's final. Carlsen won 4–1, removing perhaps the biggest obstacle between himself and another EWC title.
Lazavik's route looked very different. He survived Ian Nepomniachtchi to escape the group stage, edged Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the quarterfinals and then beat Hikaru Nakamura 3.5–1.5 in the semifinal. By the time he reached Carlsen, his run no longer looked like a favorable bracket or one good afternoon. He had gone through three elite opponents and earned his place in the final.
There would be no final upset. Carlsen won both sets to complete another EWC title run, capping a week in which he was rarely pushed out of control. The bracket produced surprises around him, but his own path through Paris remained remarkably steady.
About Those Picks
Before the tournament, we made four selections: Magnus Carlsen as the favorite, Alireza Firouzja as the closest threat, Denis Lazavik as the dark horse and Sina Movahed as the player to watch. Looking back, the board held up surprisingly well.
Carlsen showed why he’s the number one player in the world. He never looked uncomfortable, no matter the opponent.
Firouzja landed close to where we expected. He reached the semifinal and looked every bit like one of the few players with a realistic path to the title, but once he ran into Carlsen, the gap was clear. His tournament then ended on a stranger note in the third-place match against teammate Hikaru Nakamura. With Nakamura leading 3–1 and two games remaining, Firouzja left the stage following a dispute connected to technical issues and ultimately forfeited the match, handing Nakamura third place.
It was an abrupt ending to an otherwise strong week, and probably one Firouzja would rather have back.
The Lazavik pick is the one that aged best. Calling him capable of making a deep run was one thing; watching him eliminate Nepomniachtchi, Abdusattorov and Nakamura on his way to the championship match was another. His tournament finally ended against Carlsen, but losing to the favorite in the final hardly diminishes what came before it. A dark horse is usually a player you hope survives long enough to make the prediction interesting. Lazavik came within one match of winning the whole thing.
Movahed's result was quieter. He did not reach the playoffs, but the 16-year-old made it into the lower-bracket before Hans Niemann ended his tournament. That was always the most forward-looking of the four picks, and Paris did little to change the idea that he is a name worth tracking beyond one event.
Taken together, the preview held up unusually well: our favorite won, our closest threat reached the semifinal before losing to that favorite, and our dark horse reached the final. We will not pretend every prediction piece is going to look this clean afterward, but this one earned a little satisfaction.
Chess Looked Comfortable Here
The larger question entering Paris was not really whether Carlsen could win another rapid event. It was whether chess would continue to look like it belonged inside an esports tournament. After a second year, the answer is a resounding yes.
The combination of recognizable stars, short matches, and genuine bracket volatility is exactly what the event wants.
Last year, chess entering the Esports World Cup still felt like an experiment. Paris felt considerably less like one. The week gave us both sides of what makes this version of chess compelling: Denis Lazavik announcing himself with the best run of his young career, and Magnus Carlsen waiting at the end to remind everyone that the throne still belongs to him.
— Quiet Move Journal