Journey to the finals begins as 2025 eSailing World Championship gets underway

The first of six qualifiers gets underway from 10-14 February 2025 with sailors taking on a new challenge using the J70 as part of a six-month journey culminating in the live Grand Final. The six qualifiers will test the abilities of players from across the globe on some of the world’s most famous boats, from the keelboats like J70, Far East 28, Star and the Offshore Racer, to dinghies like ILCA and 49er, and Multihulls like F50 and Nacra 17. Each qualifier will be set at iconic virtual venues such as La Rochelle, Trieste, Kiel, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney and Alicante.

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The top 40 players from each of the six qualifiers will advance to the first knockout round, where the top three in each knockout round will qualify for the semi-finals. Players finishing in the remaining top 10 positions in the six events must compete in a playoff which will also feature players from the Steering the Course eSailing Regatta, those qualifying through World Sailing Special Events and other eligible players.

At the semi-final stage, the top 12 players will be joined by the automatic qualifiers from the first knockout round and wildcard entries from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.

Only 12 players can make it through to the Grand Final – the top 10 players overall, the Steering the Course 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 Arthur Farley (F7 – RS) of Great Britain who secured his first World Championship title after two consecutive silver medals in the 2022 and 2023 World Championships.

His journey to the final began as part of thousands of competitors from around the world participating in 32 unique challenges and over 63,000 races.

The Notice of Race for the 2025 eSailing World Championships is available on the World Sailing website.

The Semifinal and the Grand Final will be streamed live on the World Sailing YouTube channel.

Schedule