Esports events calendar 2025: Major upcoming esports tournaments

Esports has a vast ecosystem that spans across a variety of games, each with unique calendars, and 2025 looks set to be a milestone year for events.

Fans of multiple esports are treated to major tournaments and events throughout the entirety of the year.

To help navigate esports’ hectic calendar, Esports Insider has created a month-by-month list of events that are taking place in 2025. These upcoming esports tournaments range from annual World Championships to major leagues that cover entire regions. 

This list will be updated periodically as more major esports events and dates are announced. First published: 13/01/25.

League of Legends and VALORANT kick off the esports tournament calendar with their respective international leagues all commencing. However, the first month of 2025 also concludes Apex Legends’ latest season as the 2024 ALGS Championship heads to Japan.

February sees some of the best teams across Rainbow Six Siege, VALORANT and Counter-Strike 2 collide with the Six Invitational 2025, VALORANT Masters Bangkok 2025 and PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 all taking place, respectively. Meanwhile, Fortnite’s esports ecosystem takes centre stage across the world with its online Major 1 Grand Finals.

The esports tournament calendar debuts a new event as League of Legends’ First Stand commences in March. Meanwhile, Capcom Cup 11, Street Fighter 6’s biggest event of the year, and Rocket League’s RLCS 2025 Birmingham Major stand out within a very busy month of upcoming esports tournaments.

Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 largely dominate April 2025, with the likes of PGL Bucharest, BLAST Rivals Spring 2025, IEM Spring, ESL One Raleigh and PGL Wallachia Season 4 all starting in the month. Call of Duty League’s Stage 3 Major and ESL Snapdragon Pro Series: Mobile Masters 2025 are other stand-out esports events in April.

Counter-Strike 2 continues to dominate the 2025 esports calendar with four significant events happening in May alone. Notably, this includes ESL Impact League Season 7, Counter-Strike 2’s women’s-only esports competition, and IEM Dallas.

For 2025’s mid-way point, June is jam-packed with international events. VALORANT, Counter-Strike, Rocket League and League of Legends will host notable global competitions to find the best teams in their respective games.

July marks the start of the 2025 Esports World Cup, a multi-title esports tournament in Saudi Arabia. As such, multiple esports events will be scheduled throughout the month, ranging from separate events to major competitions that significantly impact a game’s esports ecosystem.

Outside of the Esports World Cup, other esports tournaments include IEM Cologne 2025 and VALORANT’s Stage 2 international leagues.

Alongside the continuation of the Esports World Cup, August will see niche titles such as Pokemon UNITE and GeoGuessr conclude their respective esports ecosystems. Moreover, the month features one of the FGC’s biggest events, EVO 2025, featuring notable competitions in Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8 and Guilty Gear -Strive-.

September sees various Counter-Strike 2 competitions commence, including the ESL Pro League and the StarLadder StarSeries. However, headlining this month is the RLCS 2025 World Championship and VALORANT Champions 2025, both of which are set to take place in France.

So far, October looks to be a month of esports quality as opposed to quantity. The 2025 League of Legends World Championship, one of esports’ biggest events of the year, is set to be held in China, with PGL hosting another significant Counter-Strike 2 tournament in Romania.

Nearly rounding out the esports tournament calendar, November sees the conclusion of PUBG Mobile’s esports ecosystem. Meanwhile, Rainbow Six, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2 all host notable competitions, the latter of which includes a Major.

Esports tournaments are competitions that are run to crown champions in a specific video game. Typically, this includes the best players within the game’s ecosystem, with a tournament organiser or game publisher involved. However, esports tournaments can vary from grassroots events to professional leagues.

Esports events have captured the imagination of video game fans in a similar manner to how traditional sports became an entertainment offering. Alongside creating a community atmosphere during live esports competitions, events showcase some of the best players in the world and have attracted large fandoms as a result.

Esports events, of varying sizes, are held all over the world. Depending on which game is being played, some events are more popular in certain regions. Outside of major esports events, competitions are also played online with matches streamed to viewers.

Given that esports is a collection of multiple games, it is hard to truly say what the biggest esports tournament is. However, the most popular event is normally the League of Legends World Championship, which last year recorded over 6.94m peak viewers, according to Esports Charts.

Most big esports events can be viewed live on streaming platforms such as Twitch, YouTube and, in some cases TikTok. Some events also allow audiences to see the action in person by purchasing tickets. If you’re unsure of how to view an event, make sure to check out the game’s official esports websites.

Written by: Tom Daniels & Olivia Richman