Carlsen retains Esports World Cup crown after unbeaten campaign
Magnus Carlsen beat Denis Lazavik 2-0 in Saturday's Esports World Cup final to successfully defend his title, completing the tournament without a loss. The Norwegian won both sets 3-1 to finish an unbeaten campaign.
World No. 1 Carlsen, a five-time world champion representing Team Liquid, delivered the decisive win in the event's title match. His straight-sets victory over Belarusian grandmaster Denis Lazavik effectively concluded the tournament's championship stage.
Carlsen said he changed his preparation for the final after studying Lazavik's games and consulting with his coaches. "I followed Denis' games and talked to the coaches. I do feel, especially with Hikaru's approach, it was not right. Funny thing is, I said that he is not great at defending endgames, so I thought I should keep it together better than Hikaru," Carlsen said.
Reflecting on his head-to-head experience with Lazavik, Carlsen said he adjusted his style to avoid earlier mistakes in online play. "I have played Denis many times online, where I played riskily and got punished for it, so I didn't give him obvious positional advantages," he said.
Carlsen acknowledged there had been precarious moments during the event, specifically in matches against Alireza Firouzja and Nihal Sarin, but expressed satisfaction at remaining unbeaten. "There were several moments, a couple against Alireza, against Nihal as well. There were certainly some moments, but I am thrilled to go undefeated," he said. "I was not trying to do anything out of the ordinary. I tried to take my chances, with a little bit of randomness, and I am happy."
Denis Lazavik finished as runner-up and received USD 190,000 and 750 Club Championship points for AG.AL.
Hikaru Nakamura secured third place by beating Alireza Firouzja 4-1 in a match affected by technical problems and disconnections; Firouzja left the venue after the fourth game with Nakamura leading 3-1 and officials later awarded the remaining result as a forfeit. "Today's match with Alireza certainly didn't go well for anyone. It was chaos with multiple disconnections and then Alireza's untimely departure from the event," Nakamura wrote on X. He initially blamed chess.com for the technical issues but apologised after being informed the fault originated with the Esports World Cup and had affected other competitions as well. "I now know I was wrong. It was an EWC issue that took out a few events, not just chess," Nakamura said.
The championship was contested under a best-of-three sets format, with the first two sets featuring four games each and a two-game decider available if required; Carlsen's title earned him USD 250,000 and 1,000 Club Championship points.
