Esports World Cup: Carlsen, Firouzja, Nakamura, and Abdusattorov Advance to Playoffs

The Esports World Cup group stage commenced in Paris on Wednesday, featuring 16 players competing for 8 playoff spots. The event, which includes chess for the second time, runs from August 11 to 15 and has a total prize fund of $1.5 million.

Alireza Firouzja and Nodirbek Abdusattorov from Group A qualified for the playoffs after winning their initial matches. Firouzja advanced through Armageddon tiebreakers against Wei Yi and Arjun Erigaisi, while Abdusattorov achieved two straightforward 2–0 victories over Pranesh Munirethinam and Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

In Group B, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura also secured their playoff positions by winning both of their matches. Carlsen defeated Andrey Esipenko and Hans Niemann, while Nakamura achieved victories against Alexey Sarana and Denis Lazavik. The remaining players in both groups will compete in lower-bracket matches on Thursday to determine who else will advance.