Honor of Kings World Cup 2025 breaks viewership record as AG.AL win

The Honor of Kings World Cup 2025 concluded on July 26 at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Chinese team AG.AL International clinching the inaugural title in dramatic fashion.

The event also set new viewership records for the mobile MOBA, highlighting its rapid rise on the global esports stage.

The US$3 million tournament featured 18 teams and marked the first full-scale World Cup for Honor of Kings since the game’s global expansion in 2024.

It ran from July 15–26 at Boulevard Riyadh City and debuted the GSL group stage format before moving to single-elimination playoffs.

Heading into the best-of-seven Grand Final, the top esports betting sites heavily favoured AG.AL, listed at -500 with BetOnline, while TT Global were priced as +280 outsiders.

The odds reflected AG.AL’s dominant playoff run, but TT Global pushed them to the brink in one of the most thrilling series of the tournament.

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  The bookies' bookie

AG.AL’s road to the championship included dominant 4-0 wins over Alpha7 and Twisted Minds, setting up the highly anticipated showdown with TT Global.

After taking Game 1, AG.AL lost three straight maps to trail 1-3. In a stunning turnaround, they won the next three games to level the series and sealed the trophy in a tense Game 7.

The victory earned AG.AL $750,000 and 1,000 Club Points, boosting them to second place in the overall Esports World Cup 2025 club rankings. Finals MVP honors went to Chen “ZhongYi” Jiahao, whose standout performance secured a $10,000 bonus.

Viewership for the tournament shattered previous records for Honor of Kings esports, peaking at 653,309 concurrent viewers and surpassing three million watch hours.

These figures exclude data from Chinese platforms such as Bilibili and DouYu, suggesting actual global interest was even higher.

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  Fast Payouts

The English-language broadcast alone reached 191,000 peak viewers, marking the highest Western audience the title has achieved to date.

With China continuing to dominate the competitive scene, the World Cup’s success signals growing global traction for Tencent’s flagship mobile MOBA.

The Honor of Kings esports roadmap includes ongoing regional leagues in SEA, the West, East Asia, and Brazil, culminating in the International Championship later this year.