‘Esports World Cup: Level Up’ returns for second season

RIYADH: “Esports World Cup: Level Up” returns for its second season on June 26, with all five episodes dropping that day exclusively on Prime Video.

Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker RJ Cutler — “Martha” (Netflix), “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry” (Apple TV) — the five-part docuseries goes inside the human stories behind the world’s largest esports competition, following players, clubs and families through the pressure and ambition of the 2025 Esports World Cup.

Set in Riyadh during the seven-week event, the new season follows the chase for the $70 million prize pool and the EWC Club Championship, while showing the personal journeys at the heart of the competition. The series captures what it takes to compete on a global stage where one match can change a career, a season can define a club, and a single moment can turn a player into a star.

Produced by This Machine (part of Sony Pictures Television), with director Cutler, showrunner John Dorsey and executive producers Jane Cha Cutler, Trevor Smith, Elize Pearlstein and Mark Blatty all returning for the second season, “Esports World Cup: Level Up” takes a verite-style approach to esports, capturing the sacrifice, stakes and rising fame of the world’s top competitive gamers.

Featured players include Jake “Boaster” Howlett (Fnatic; VALORANT), Vivi “Vivian” Indrawaty (Team Vitality; MLBB),  Kasimili “Soka” Tongamoa (Team Falcons; Call of Duty: Warzone), Xiao Hai (KuaiShou Gaming; Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves) and Garidmagnai “bLitz” Byambasuren (Mongolz; Counter-Strike). To bring the players’ personal stories to the forefront, the film’s crew was on set in Riyadh for seven weeks and also traveled to locations across the UK, US and Indonesia for rare