The Honor of Kings World Cup 2025 (KWC 2025) is set to begin at the Esports World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where new world champions will be crowned.

In total, 18 teams are competing for the inaugural world championship title in the Honor of Kings series, following the cancellation of the Arena of Valor World Cup in 2022. The tournament features a substantial prize pool of $3 million, making it one of the most highly anticipated events of the year.

This is the second occurrence of an HoK event during the EWC, following last year’s successful Midseason Invitational, which was won by the King Pro League (KPL) Dream Team from China. Here’s what you need to know about KWC 2025, which is scheduled from July 15 to 26.

Teams in the Honor of Kings World Cup 2025

Here are the 18 teams participating in the tournament, along with their qualification details:

Format of the Honor of Kings World Cup 2025

The tournament structure consists of three main stages:

• Group stage: July 15-19
• Group Kings/Last Chance: July 20
• Playoffs: July 23-26

The champions from KPL Spring and ACL already have secured their playoff spots, while the remaining 16 teams will compete in the group stage. These teams are arranged into four groups (GSL-style), each containing four teams, and will play in best-of-three, double-elimination matches. Below is the group arrangement:

The top team from each group will progress to both the playoffs and the «Group Kings» stage, while the second-placed teams will go to the «Last Chance» round.

In the Last Chance round, the matchups are as follows: A2 vs. B2 and C2 vs. D2. The winners will advance to the bottom playoff pool, while the losers will be eliminated.

Simultaneously, group winners will face each other in the Group Kings stage with matchups: A1 vs. B1 and C1 vs. D1. The winners will join the KPL Spring and ACL champions in the top playoff pool, while the losers will move to the bottom pool.

A random draw will determine the playoff match setups, ensuring each top team faces a bottom team. The playoffs will follow a single-elimination format, with all matches being best-of-seven, except for the third-place match, which is best-of-five.

The tournament will implement the Global Ban & Pick system, meaning the same hero cannot be selected by a player more than once in a series. If a best-of-seven or best-of-nine series reaches a deciding game, the Ultimate Battle system will switch to a blind draft mode with no restrictions.

Schedule and Results of Honor of Kings World Cup 2025

Group Stage

July 15

Group B round 1

• 4am CT | 5pm GMT+8: Alpha7 vs. Loops
• 6am CT | 7pm GMT+8: Dominator vs. Vitality

Group A round 1

• 8am CT | 9pm GMT+8: Blacklist vs. Paws
• 10am CT | 11pm GMT+8: Gen.G vs. BOOM

July 16

Group D round 1

• 4am CT | 5pm GMT+8: Alpha vs. A.C.T.
• 6am CT | 7pm GMT+8: OG vs. NS RedForce

• 8am CT | 9pm GMT+8: Kagendra vs. Black Shrew
• 10am CT | 11pm GMT+8: Twisted Minds vs. Nova

(to be updated)

Final Rankings of the Honor of Kings World Cup 2025

Viewing Options for Honor of Kings World Cup 2025

The matches can be watched through the official channels of HoK: