Street Fighter 6 Esports World Cup 2025 Schedule, Prize Pool, Format

Street Fighter 6 will soon kick off its 2025 Esports World Cup appearance. Let's explore its schedule, format and more.

Gabby DeSena | May 21, 2025

Street Fighter 6 will appear at the 2025 Esports World Cup. / Esports World Cup

Capcom's Street Fighter 6 is expanding its FGC influence this year with multiple partnerships. The franchise recently revealed a major Overwatch collaboration and even joined forces with an upcoming anime. In another milestone, Street Fighter 6 will continue its presence at the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) with a major tournament. Let's explore everything about the event, including its key information, format, schedule and more.

What is the Esports World Cup?
Street Fighter 6 is Joining the 2025 Esports World Cup
Street Fighter 6 at the 2025 Esports World Cup: Tournament Format
Street Fighter 6 at the 2025 Esports World Cup: Full Schedule
How to Watch Street Fighter 6 at the Esports World Cup

What is the Esports World Cup?

The 2025 Esports World Cup total prize pool will surpass its previous record. / Esports World Cup

The Esports World Cup, or EWC, is an international esports competition founded in 2024 and featuring over 24 titles and 25 tournaments. It takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) funds it. The event also contains a festival portion, called the Esports World Cup Festival (EWCF). Alongside its main tournaments, this festival includes gaming-related activities, live entertainment and tournaments for smaller games.

At the EWC, esports organizations register as partnered Club Teams. The club teams compete in individual titles, but their winnings from each game also contribute to a larger club score. At the event's conclusion, the club with the most points is crowned that year's champion, indicating it is the best overall in all esports titles.

The 2025 Esports World Cup will also have the largest prize pool in esports history, clocking in at over 70 million USD. This breaks its previous record of 60 million USD in 2024. The EWC divides its total prize pool between individual tournament winners, MVP athletes, and its partnered Club Teams.

Street Fighter 6 is Joining the 2025 Esports World Cup

Street Fighter 6 was one of the EWC's original partnered titles. In 2024, the franchise hosted a tournament where esports athlete Xiao "xiaohaitake" Hai took home the trophy. The event was Hai's first-ever World Championship, and as a veteran player older than other competitors, he experienced an unprecedented underdog arc. EWC Street Fighter 6 will return in 2025 and remains in a contract with the organization until at least 2027. This year's Street Fighter 6 event will arrive on the festival's last few days, and press statements state, "As one of the games set to close out this year’s Esports World Cup, Street Fighter 6 will no doubt deliver a fitting end to the event."

How Big is the Esports World Cup 2025 Street Fighter 6 Prize Pool?

According to official EWC press statements, the 2025 Street Fighter 6 prize pool will contain over 1 million USD. This will be distributed among individual players and teams based on placement and performance.

On the event's website, the EWC states:

"Street Fighter 6 has every man fighting for themselves, with honor, glory, and $1 million on the line. Grit, determination, and skill will all be needed as the best fighters from every region take on every challenge in their way to the EWC. Only one will emerge as the winner."

Street Fighter 6 at the 2025 Esports World Cup: Tournament Format

Before entering the Esports World Cup, Street Fighter 6 players must progress through qualifiers. These tournaments determine which contestants receive slots for the main EWC event. One slot always belongs to the previous year's defending Champion (in 2025, xiaohaitake takes this spot). The top 12 players from Capcom's official Street Fighter League Championships and the top 8 from the Capcom Cup 11 also qualify for the EWC. In addition, several smaller events receive dedicated slots:

EVO Japan
EVO USA
Combo Breaker
CEO
Blink Respawn
Asian Champions League (ACL)
The Mixup
BAM
Brussels Challenge
GCC
Saudi eLeague Fighting

Finally, a Last Chance Qualifier will occur to decide the 2025 EWC's remaining10 spots.

Mai Shiranui Street Fighter 6 Master Intro

Screenshot via Capcom

Phase 1

The first portion of the 2025 EWC's main Street Fighter 6 event is a Group Stage, where 12 groups of 4 players each compete. This means the stage contains 48 players overall. Each group's winner goes straight to the Phase 3 Playoffs, while the runners-up advance to Phase 2. Every Phase 1 match is best-of-5 and the first player with 3 wins progresses.

Phase 2

Phase 2 of EWC Street Fighter 6 contains 12 players who are again split into 4 groups. This segment's brackets operate in a Round Robin format, with one winner from each group advancing to the Phase 3 playoffs. These matches are also best-of-5 and first-to-3.

Phase 3

Phase 3 contains the event's final 16 players. It utilizes a single-elimination bracket with a 3rd place match. During the stage, competitors will progress through quarterfinals, semifinals and Grand Finals. In addition, it will differ slightly from earlier games since it is best-of-9 and first-to-5.

Street Fighter 6 at the 2025 Esports World Cup: Full Schedule

Now that we've explored an in-depth explanation of how each tournament phase works, let's walk through all upcoming EWC 2025 Street Fighter 6 events. Here's a quick schedule:

August 20-21: Phase 1 occurs.
August 22: Phase 2 occurs.
August 23: Phase 3 occurs.

How to Watch Street Fighter 6 at the Esports World Cup

Street Fighter 6 events will be broadcast live on the Esports World Cup's official Twitch account, twitch.tv/ewc. In addition, the EWC has a YouTube channel @ewc that livestreams matches and posts VODs of completed games.