These Are the Biggest Esports Tournaments in 2025

The 2025 esports tournament season is heating up, with Fortnite's Major 1 Grand Finals and VALORANT Masters Bangkok already behind us. The calendar is jam-packed with major-league events getting ready to host the best CS 2, Dota 2, LoL, and Valorant players from around the world.

Now is the perfect time to look at some of the most anticipated events in the coming months. Join us as we navigate the fascinating world of esports, with major tours, locations, and dates for each.

Top 3 Esports Tournaments of 2025

Referring to any esports event as the ‘biggest’ can be misleading, as each title has its own unique ecosystem with specific structure, calendar, and popularity. Still, there are several tournaments that draw the most attention, either due to their cult status among players or the novelty that they bring. Here’s my top 3 picks.

The International (Dota 2)

Dota 2's biggest event of 2025 returns to Germany after the inaugural event during Gamescom 2011. The International 2025 will be hosted in Hamburg from September 11 to 14, following last year's bout in Copenhagen.

Once again, sixteen teams will compete inside a 16,000-seat Barclays Arena, some through direct invitation and others via open or regional qualifiers.

A notable exception introduced by Valve last year is that there will be no in-game sponsorship banners or advertisement, minimising distractions for players. This is good for bettors, too, as fewer variables mean that the results should be easier to predict.

League of Legends World Championship

With the global release of Arcane Season 2, the upcoming League of Legends World Championship (or the Worlds, as it's commonly referred to) is going to be huge. Worlds 2025 will be held in three Chinese cities, with the grand final played in Chengdu. It will conclude the LoL summer season that starts with MSI in Vancouver.

The Worlds esports tournament will feature 17 teams, 3 per region and two slots based on the MSI performance. The dates have not been announced yet, but we're most likely looking at October.

2025 Esports World Cup

If any tour threatens to become the definitive multi-title esports event, it's the Esports World Cup held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 2024, the debut edition of EWC lasted for 2 months across 20 tournaments, shared the combined prize pool of $60 million, and had Neymar playing CS 2, Rocket League and Tekken 8.

As you would expect, Counter Strike, Dota 2, LOL, Valorant are all featured in EWC. Also, the 2025 Esports World Cup is adding online chess with his highness Magnus Carlsen as the brand ambassador and prize pool of $1.5 million.

The tour will take place from July 3 to August 25 and, due to its largest prize pools in the game, attract the biggest names in esports.

Biggest Esports Events 2025 by Game

But that's just scratching the surface. Esports tournaments and events span a variety of ecosystems, each with a unique story, structure, and calendar. Let's quickly review the top four games available for betting and chart a roadmap of their most important tournaments.

Esports on the Rise Among Bettors

The esports industry has been on the rise since its inception. According to Statista, the industry is set to grow from $1.64bn in 2023 to $6 billion by the year 2030, much of it driven by the biggest esports tournaments and events.

Many sportsbooks like Playbet.io and Stake have latched on to it to offer comprehensive betting options for 10+ games. They’ll be having odds for each of the major events, so do check them out.