"Esports World Cup: Level Up" returned for its Season 2 on June 26, 2026, on Amazon Prime Video. The five-part docuseries, directed by Emmy-winning American filmmaker R.J. Cutler, follows players, families, and Clubs through the pressure and goal of the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC).
The new season chronicles the pursuit of the USD 70 million prize pool and the EWC Club Championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over seven weeks. It also shows the personal journeys of the competitors. The series shows what it takes to compete globally, where one match can transform a career, a season can mold a Club, and one moment may make a player famous.
Esports World Cup: Level Up, produced by This Machine (a division of Sony Pictures Television), returns for a second season with director R.J. Cutler, showrunner John Dorsey, and executive producers Elise Pearlstein, Jane Cha Cutler, Trevor Smith, and Mark Blatty. It captures the sacrifice, goals, and rising fame of the world's top competitive gamers.
Featured players include Vivi "Vivian" Indrawaty (Team Vitality; Mobile Legends), Jake "Boaster" Howlett (Fnatic; VALORANT), Xiao Hai (KuaiShou Gaming; Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves), Garidmagnai "bLitz" Byambasuren (Mongolz; Counter-Strike), and Kasimili "Soka" Tongamoa (Team Falcons; Call of Duty: Warzone).
The film's team spent seven weeks in Riyadh and briefly visited the players' homes in the US, UK, and Indonesia to highlight their personal stories.
Furthermore, the series features Filipino coach ArSy (Team Liquid; Mobile Legends), who provides a rare look at professional esports leadership, to introduce fans to tournament personalities. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is one of Filipino fans' favorite esports games, hence ArSy's narrative is relevant. He uses his own struggles to lead and inspire his team to victory on one of the largest stages in professional gaming.
Highlights of the Esports World Cup: Level Up Season 2 include the following:
- Coach ArSy – Using his rough upbringing to lead and motivate his Mobile Legends squad, Team Liquid, to redemption, offers a distinctive coaching perspective.
- Magnus Carlsen – Playing for Team Liquid, the strongest chess player ever, is alone with no traditional peaks to climb. His story chronicles his move to esports, where fresh challengers await.
- Boaster – The Valorant player from Fnatic shows that success is formed by tenacity through personal and professional losses.
- Vivian – Competing for a life-changing prize with her Mobile Legends team, Vitality, Vivian overcomes recent hardships and childhood pain.
Around such player experiences, the series highlights the Esports World Cup's cultural dynamic, where sport, music, entertainment, and gaming combine. Level Up also features performances by a star-studded lineup of musicians and athletes, including opening act Post Malone, who displays his gaming skills backstage; Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, who wins his first chess esports event; and football legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who brings the Club Championship trophy to the stage in a grand closing ceremony.
The Esports World Cup 2025 changed competitive gaming. EWC's second year saw 750 million viewers and 350 million hours watched, peaking at over 8 million views during the League of Legends event at EWC '25. Over 800 channels in 35 languages and 97 broadcast partners provided coverage on 28 platforms. Over 2,000 players from 200 Clubs in 100 countries competed in 25 tournaments over 24 games.
Paris will host the 2026 Esports World Cup from July 6 to August 23, where the world's best clubs battle for USD 75 million and the Club Championship trophy.
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