eSailing World Championship returns for a new season with several innovations raising the stakes

The first of eight qualifiers – up from six last year – gets underway from 13-16 October 2025 with sailors taking on a new challenge as part of a six-month journey culminating in the live Grand Final. The qualifiers will test the abilities of players from across the globe on some of the world’s most famous boats in a series of iconic virtual venues, including Hyeres, Dubai, Kiel, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Trieste.

Players will compete on keelboats J70, Far East 28, Star and the Offshore Racer, dinghies like ILCA and 49er, and Multihulls like F50, Formula 18 and Nacra 17.

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The top 40 players from each qualifier will advance to the knockout round, where the top three in each of the eight knockout rounds will qualify automatically for the semi-finals, as will the top two in the special Steering the Course eSailing Regatta, a female-only eSailing competition promoting inclusivity and opportunity in the sport. The fourth placed finisher in each knockout will qualify for a playoff where they will be joined by third, fourth and fifth place from Steering the Course and other eligible players.

There will be three semi-finals this year – up from two last year. The top 21 players will be joined by the automatic qualifiers from the knockout stage, runner up in Steering the Course, playoff winners and wildcard entries from France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.

Only 12 players can make it through to the Grand Final – the top 9 players overall, the Steering the Course winner, eSailing World Championship ranking winner and a wildcard entry from the host nation where a chance to win a share of the $10,000 USD cash prize pool courtesy of Virtual Regatta will be up for grabs.

Last season’s Grand Final was won by Tristan Péron (asere) of France who claimed his second eSailing world title at the live Grand Final in Gydnia, Poland, as part of the Gdynia Sailing Days festival.

The Notice of Race for the 2026 eSailing World Championships is available on the World Sailing website.

The Semi-Finals and the Grand Final will be streamed live on the World Sailing YouTube channel.

Relive the action of past finals here.

Schedule