Chess.com Announces PRO Chess League: Arena Royale

Chess.com is happy to announce the return of the PRO Chess League. The PRO Chess League: Arena Royale is a special, one-week event for the PCL that will run from September 16 through September 24 and will have a $100,000 prize fund. Elite chess players will form 16 different teams from all over the globe will compete in a series of blitz and rapid games to determine the 2021 PRO Chess League champion.

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The event we all know and love is coming back with a twist this year: Teams will face off in blitz time controls using Chess.com's newly launched "Club Arena" interface before moving onto a knockout stage, followed by the league's traditional rapid time control for the semifinals and final.

Every arena will have individual and team prizes and every player will have to fight tooth and nail for each win to help stack up points and streaks for their team.

Despite this event constituting the most condensed format the league has ever had, Chess.com's Chief Chess Officer IM Danny Rensch assured PRO Chess League fans that this amazing event will deliver excitement, but more importantly, that the future of the league is still very bright.

"While we were disappointed not to have found a way to fit a full-length PCL season in during this busy calendar year, we're more excited than ever about the league's future. This compact event will still bring the drama of PCL, with super fun 'ladder tiebreak' battles and a true free-for-all in terms of who plays who, and who gets hot for their respective team!" said Rensch.

"This is the largest prize pool we've ever had for the shortest 'season' we will likely ever hold. What's more, I can say that there are big things in the works for the PCL in 2022 and beyond. Bigger prizes and more at stake than ever is what's to come next." 

There are big things in the works for the PCL in 2022...
— IM Danny Rensch, Chess.com's Chief Chess Officer

With a history of attracting the most prominent chess players in the world, the PRO Chess League will undoubtedly be one of the most thrilling events of the year. Past seasons have seen players such as world champion GM Magnus Carlsen, 2021 Candidates winner GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, Chinese number-one GM Ding Liren, and more!

This year, the always mighty team from Saint Louis is already among the confirmed teams to participate. The three-time champions had none other than GMs Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Leinier Dominguez playing for their team. With many talented players in their history, expectations are high to see who they include in their ranks for this year.

Fans will also want to closely watch the Canadian team, confirmed to participate this year as well. With GM Eric Hansen as their manager, the 2020 Canadian Chessbrahs included heavyweights GMs Anish Giri, Alexander Grischuk, Alireza Firouzja, and Aryan Tari.

Make sure you tune in to our official broadcast so you won't miss a single detail of the 2021 PRO Chess League: Arena Royale! You can watch the event with live commentary on Chess.com/TV or on our Twitch and YouTube channels.

What country do you think will win this year's event? Who will you be rooting for? Let us know in the comments below!