November 28, 2025
2 minutes reading time
The 2025 eSailing World Championship Grand Final in Gdynia, Poland. Organised by World Sailing and Virtual Regatta and hosted by the Polish Yachting Association in Gdynia as part of the Gdynia Sailing Festival. Some of the world's top eSailors compete for the top step on the podium in a live final.
Eight nations ready to challenge for global glory in 2025 eSailing Nations Cup
The stage is set for the 2025 eSailing Nations Cup, with eight nations confirmed to compete in the digital global regatta.
The tournament, which runs from 28 November 2025 through to the Grand Final on 1 February 2026, also welcomes a new contender to the fleet this year with Hungary joining the returning seven nations: Italy, France, Japan, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland, and Germany.
This year’s competition is structured into three demanding stages, emphasising teamwork, strategy, and versatility across a range of high-performance virtual vessels.
The eSailing Nations Cup commences with Stage 1: The Mixed Opening Fleet Race on 28 November 2025 at 20:00 UTC. This initial ranking event consists of six back-to-back fleet races in a rotating selection of virtual vessels including the 49er, Nacra, F50, J70, Offshore, and ILCA.
Teams, which must consist of both male and female players from maximum five-person roster, will field three players per race. Scoring uses the low-point system, with the final race result serving as the tie-breaker.
Stage 2: The Group Stage will be held from 29 November to 18 December 2025. Nations are divided into Group A and Group B based on their Stage 1 performance and will compete in a round-robin format, facing every group rival once.
Each match is a seven-race contest where a new points system rewards dominance.
A Decisive Win (7-0 or 6-1) grants four points, a Narrow Win (5-2 or 4-3) grants three points, while a Narrow Loss yields two points, and a Decisive Loss one point.
Team depth is crucial here, as rosters must contain no fewer than seven and no more than 20 players, with between seven and 10 selected per match.
Crucially, seven unique players must participate before Race 4, and no single player can race more than three times per match. Races will feature combinations of Offshore, F50, J70, Star, and ILCA classes in dynamic 2v2 to 5v5 formats, and the captain or vice-captain must be present.
The final push for the title is Stage 3: The Knockout Stage, running from early January 2026 to the Grand Final. All eight nations qualify, entering a standard bracket format beginning with the Quarter Finals (7–9 & 11–16 January), leading to the Semi Finals (24–25 January). Classification Rounds (19–23 & 26–30 January) will determine the final rankings for positions 5-8.
The championship culminates with the Petite Final for third place on 31 January 2026, and the Grand Final on 1 February 2026, and will mix Star, ILCA, J70, Offshore, and F50 classes across 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, and 5v5 formats, setting the scene for a thrilling conclusion to the digital season.