Primary grandmaster, Magnus Carlsen, has gained the inaugural on-line chess competitors on the Esports World Cup. The 34-year-old Norwegian will take dwelling $250,000 (round £188,000).
The Esports World Cup (EWC) being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is among the largest multi-discipline tournaments in aggressive skilled gaming.
The inclusion of chess on this 12 months’s schedule was considerably controversial, however the match’s organisers argued it counted as an esport as it’s performed by tens of millions of individuals of all ages.
That is the second time the EWC has been staged and it comes with a complete prize pot of round $70m (£50m).
Over a interval of seven weeks, groups from around the globe compete throughout 25 well-liked video games, together with Name of Obligation, Road Fighter and League of Legends.
The EWC mentioned together with chess this 12 months has seen the sport attain a “new milestone”, 139 years after the primary World Chess Champion was topped.
On the Esports world cup, opponents sit at their laptop on a stage in entrance of a dwell viewers, carrying heart-rate displays. Very similar to with conventional sport, there are giant screens, large identify sponsors and commentators.
Various grandmasters took half within the on-line competitors, which noticed gamers undergo a bunch stage earlier than the top-scorers made it to the playoffs.
It was the world’s finest conventional chess participant who cinched the title, after beating quantity eight Alireza Firouzja.
Carlsen is not any stranger to embracing modernity within the sport. Final 12 months, he mentioned he would return to a serious chess competitors after the game’s governing physique agreed to loosen up its gown code.
Carlsen had stop the World Speedy and Blitz Chess Championships in New York, the place he was defending his title, when he was advised he couldn’t proceed taking part in whereas carrying denims.
“It has been an incredible present, not like something that I’ve seen to this point,” mentioned Carlsen after lifting the gold-plated EWC trophy.
“I actually hope that this can be a large a part of the long run for chess.
“Perhaps we are able to get on a much bigger stage subsequent time,” he added because it had proved well-liked on the match.
