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RIYADH: Weibo Gaming have won the Teamfight Tactics tournament at the Esports World Cup 2025 following a 3-1 victory over Virtus.pro in the grand final. Along with the trophy, Weibo Gaming won $150,000 from the $500,000 prize pool.

Weibo Gaming were unbeaten on their way to the grand final after missing out at the quarterfinal stage last year. They beat EWC 2024 finalists T1 on the opening day before sweeping aside Team Vitality to win their group. In the playoffs stage they took down EVOS Esports 2-0 and AEGIS 2-1. The grand final saw the format shift to best of five, and Weibo Gaming defeated Virtus.pro 3-1.

It was a game too far for Virtus.pro, who had taken down both EWC 24 grand finalists on the way to the final game. With their well-earned title as giant slayers coming into the final, Weibo Gaming were up for their challenge.

The grand final provided a great display of tactical play. Weibo Gaming set the marker down in round one with a dominant victory. Virtus.pro reversed the tide to secure a game for themselves in round two. Round three saw the teams forced into a 1v1, and despite leading, Virtus.pro were not able to clinch the win. On match point, Weibo Gaming held on to convert the game into victory.

Yao Chuanheng said: “I am incredibly excited. It’s been a long road for everyone. We’ve done so much, we’ve put in so much work to prepare for this, and we’ve finally done it. So, thank you; thank you to everyone. We are the champions.”

Yin Shengjie was named the Sony MVP (most valuable player), having led the line for his team throughout the event. He won an additional $10,000 and the MVP medal to recognize his achievements.

He said: “I believe this MVP prize doesn’t belong to me alone, but to every single one of Weibo Gaming.”

Weibo Gaming now earn 1,000 Club Championship points to take them up two places to eighth in the table with 1,950 points. The club will be represented in just one more title, Street Fighter 6 in week seven of EWC 25, which means they will need another solid result to climb further up the table. They are, however, out of contention to win the Club Championship.

The second-place finish was huge for the hopes of Virtus.pro as it took them to fourth in the standings and moved them to within just 200 points of Team Vitality in third place.

The loss is Virtus.pro’s third second-place finish this year, which could prove crucial come the end of the Esports World Cup as they will need to lift at least one trophy to be eligible to win the Club Championship. However, with four rosters still due to complete, they still have a decent chance.

Team Liquid, Team Falcons, Team Vitality, Virtus.pro, and Twisted Minds make up the top five in the Club Championship standings at present, and all have a chance at the top prize.

Natus Vincere, currently 23rd in the standings, also have a shot with the remaining games they are competing in. With the clock ticking down, everything is still on the line.

The Esports World Cup continues until Aug. 24 with tournaments across multiple titles, including Crossfire, Counter Strike 2 and Street Fighter 6. 

For more information and tickets, visit esportsworldcup.com. 

The event concludes with the New Global Sport Conference, which is being held at the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh from Aug. 23-24. NGSC 2025 aims to foster dialogue, drive collaboration, and shape the future of competitive entertainment. For more information and tickets, visit newglobalsportconference.com. 

RIYADH: Kingsley Coman is leaving Bayern Munich after a trophy-filled decade to join up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi club Al-Nassr.

Bayern announced the transfer late Friday. Kicker magazine reported a fee of up to 35 million euros ($41 million) for the French winger.

Coman, who scored Bayern’s winning goal against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2020 Champions League final, will be part of a star-studded forward lineup with Ronaldo, fellow new signing Joao Felix and Coman’s former Bayern teammate Sadio Mane.

Al-Nassr are looking to improve after finishing third in the Saudi Pro League last season and signed Ronaldo to a two-year contract extension in June. Former Barcelona defender Iñigo Martínez joined on a free transfer last week.

Coman’s departure from Bayern comes two weeks after the German champion signed Luis Diaz from Liverpool, intensifying Coman’s competition for places. He got a fond farewell from Bayern coach Vincent Kompany after they won the Bundesliga together last season.

“When a player as successful as him leaves the club, it’s always a bit emotional,” Kompany said earlier Friday.

“You have to have understanding for his position in this situation and what he’d like. For me, what’s important now is that we look forward and that we show a lot of respect for Kingsley Coman, for what he’s done for this club.”

Coman won the German title nine times at Bayern since his initial arrival on loan from Juventus in 2015. Despite that success, the 29-year-old winger struggled for playing time last season and was often used as a bench player by Kompany, even before Diaz’s arrival.

Coman had nine goals in 45 games in all competitions last season and is the second experienced Bayern forward to leave after Leroy Sane departed for Turkiye’s Galatasaray on a free transfer, also after lacking game time.

“He earned an eternal place in the club’s history with his goal in the 2020 Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain,” Bayern board member for sport, Max Eberl, said.