Team Liquid has announced the signing of chess World Champion Magnus Carlsen.
As the second chess pro signed to Team Liquid, Carlsen will represent the North American esports organisation in international chess tournaments taking place throughout 2025. With Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana on its roster, Team Liquid has now signed the top two chess players in the world.
Carlsen is regarded as one of the best chess players in the world. He’s held the number one ranking for 14 years in addition to winning the world championship five times.
“It is so exciting to be a part of what I believe is the biggest and best esports team in the world,” said Carlsen. “As one of the biggest names in chess myself, partnering up with the best team and a fun brand is a perfect fit. I look forward to chess becoming staples of esports teams from now on.”
Alongside representing Team Liquid, Carlsen is also an ambassador for the Esports World Cup, a multi-title event that will feature chess for the first time in 2025.
Esports and chess in 2025
Team Liquid isn’t the only esports organisation to expand into chess. On February 11th, 2025, French organisation Team Vitality signed Maxime ‘MVL’ Vachier-Lagrave to its roster. The trend of esports organisations signing chess players shows no signs of slowing down.
The strategy game’s inclusion at the Esports World Cup is an opportunity for organisations that are part of the tournament’s partner programme.
Team Liquid is one of 40 organisations that are part of the programme, which features a $20m (~£15.9m) prize pool distributed based on the performances of its teams at the event.
With chess becoming one of 25 games being played at the event, the chances of other organisations signing chess players to their ranks are high.
