Magnus Carlsen defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov 1.5-0.5 and Jan-Krzysztof Duda beat Fabiano Caruana 1.5-0.5 in the Esports World Cup 2025 Group D upper bracket initial matches. Both winners advance to the Group D upper bracket winners match, while Abdusattorov and Caruana drop to lower bracket elimination matches with tournament survival at stake.

The Esports World Cup 2025 Group stage is played in GSL format with upper and lower brackets determining the two players who advance to quarterfinals. The tournament uses 10+0 rapid time control with a $1.5 million total prize pool. Winners upper bracket matches need one more victory to secure quarterfinal spots.