Over 2,000 elite players from across the world are competing fiercely for the record-breaking prizes at the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia.
The 2025 EWC opened on Thursday evening with a star-studded opening ceremony. Running until August 24, the event features more than 2,000 elite players, 25 tournaments across 24 leading titles, and a record-breaking prize pool of over 70 million U.S. dollars.
For the first time, the tournament brings together the world's top 200 clubs to compete across multiple game titles in a unique cross-title format.
The grand event features the world's most popular games such as Dota 2, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Valorant, and Chess.
"I wouldn't know where it's the game, at the moment, I think I will be equally poor at everything," said Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen.
At the heart of the competition is the Club Championship, where teams accumulate points across multiple games to become the EWC club champion.
"I think EWC is not just a tournament, it's like a platform. I think [for] the clubs and companies from China, they would have more opportunity for collaboration with others, especially with overseas companies or clubs," said Teri Zhang, senior director of the Esports Business Department of Chinese internet giant Tencent.
Over 2,000 gamers battle for record-breaking prizes at Riyadh’s Esports World Cup
Over 2,000 gamers battle for record-breaking prizes at Riyadh’s Esports World Cup
The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is emerging as a key engine for China's fast-growing low-altitude economy by leveraging its dense industrial networks, efficient logistics systems, and rapid innovation capacity.
From logistics and manufacturing to urban services, the region is building an integrated industrial chain that allows low-altitude industries to scale up at unprecedented speed, thus turning drone-based applications from isolated trials into large-scale, commercial operations.
China's 15th Five-Year Plan, covering 2026 to 2030, calls for the cultivation of new pillar industries and the accelerated development of strategic emerging industrial clusters, including the low-altitude economy.
At a drone operations center in Bao'an District, Shenzhen City in south China's Guangdong Province, a dozen logistics drones take off and land within minutes. Urgently needed production parts, documents, and small parcels are dispatched from here to cities in the province including Dongguan, Zhongshan, and Zhuhai.
Behind these high-flying aircraft lies what observers describe as an "invisible industrial chain", built on speed and efficiency.
"Look at this aircraft. About 90 percent of its components come from nearby areas. Relying on Shenzhen's strong logistics capabilities and its complete supply chain, these parts can be delivered to our factory within half an hour for assembly, processing, and production," said Li Kunhuang, person-in-charge of Shenzhen GODO Innovation Technology Co., Ltd.
Once a new product is unveiled, testing and calibration begin immediately at the drone testing field. As soon as the process is completed, the new models can be put into real-world operation, realizing almost “zero delay” from research and development to application.
Supported by a robust industrial chain, low-altitude routes in Shenzhen are effectively connecting the urban landscape. From its Bao'an District to Songshan Lake in Dongguan City, production components can be delivered within one hour. Supplies are transported between Zhuhai City's Xiangzhou Port to Dong'ao Island in just 25 minutes. And light industrial goods can travel round-trip within a single day between Guzhen Town in Zhongshan City and Xinhui District in Jiangmen City.
More low-altitude application scenarios are expected to be implemented in the near future.
In Qianhai District, Shenzhen is accelerating the construction of a pilot demonstration zone of low-altitude integrated three-dimensional transportation hub.
"We have built the country's first low-altitude integrated three-dimensional transportation hub, and are gradually developing a pilot flight zone that integrates multiple scenarios such as inspection, logistics, and cultural tourism. This will provide technical support for the next step of commercializing cross-border logistics and emergency rescue services across the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area," said Wu Xuemin, head of the Shenzhen Qianhai Low-Altitude Integrated Three-Dimensional Transportation Hub Pilot Demonstration Zone.
Integrated supply chains propel Greater Bay Area's low-altitude economy growth
Integrated supply chains propel Greater Bay Area's low-altitude economy growth
