Arena Kings Season 7 Recap
Arena Kings Season 7 concluded on Wednesday, August 4, with GM Jose Martinez (@Jospem) emerging victorious, earning the $4,000 prize for first place. Martinez won an additional $725 during the season for a total earnings of $4,725.
👏 Congratulations to @GMJoseMartinez for winning the final KO tournament of #ArenaKings Season 7! 👏 pic.twitter.com/lSQl8mYBQD
— Chess.com (@chesscom) August 5, 2021
Martinez defeated IM Minh Le (@wonderfultime) in the Championship Final by a 3.5-2.5 score. Le won $1,100 during the season and $2,000 in the final for a total of $3,100 in prizes.
Season 7 consisted of 12 weekly arena tournaments, two of which featured Chess960 (Fischer Random), before culminating with the Championship and Championship Final. Throughout the season players earned points for their standing each week. Players who scored at least 100 points were eligible for the Championship.
Season Standings
| Rank | Player | Points | # Events | Channel | Name |
| 1 | Hikaru | 1185 | 11 | www.twitch.tv/gmhikaru | GM Hikaru Nakamura |
| 2 | renatoterrylujan | 675 | 12 | www.twitch.tv/miterryble | IM Renato Terry Lujan |
| 3 | Oleksandr_Bortnyk | 610 | 10 | www.twitch.tv/bortnyk_chess | GM Oleksandr Bortnyk |
| 4 | GeorgMeier | 515 | 11 | www.twitch.tv/georgmeier | GM Georg Meier |
| 5 | wonderfultime | 500 | 10 | www.twitch.tv/gmminhle | IM Tuan Minh Le |
| 6 | narttayhan | 490 | 8 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCd9FzmSUIFhNKRW61HWSZkg | Nart Tayhan |
| 7 | tayhansamil | 410 | 8 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCYUTzh8thv_X9-Xl5lVlwvA | Samil Burak Tayhan |
| 8 | ChessHeroesComp | 375 | 12 | www.twitch.tv/chessheroes | Andrew Horne |
| 9 | Eman7296_YT | 345 | 11 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCk3ThPMpcJES3ETaChH0xAA | Elias Asef |
| 10 | Jospem | 285 | 5 | www.twitch.tv/josemvp31 | GM Jose Martinez |
| 11 | Zhigalko_Sergei | 280 | 8 | www.youtube.com/c/SergeiZhigalkoChess | GM Sergei Zhigalko |
| 12-T | vugarrasulov | 265 | 9 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCatcV_KnIFEsFWLoj5ByXdQ | GM Vugar Rasulov |
| 12-T | ajayabhay | 265 | 11 | www.youtube.com/channel/UC_jxJA_rBCKmcpR7_A408xg | Ajay Ramani |
| 14-T | champ2005 | 260 | 5 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCIDUkl61OpGhEo_0RQ-5H6w | GM Raunak Sadhwani |
| 14-T | FritziSchach_Twitch | 260 | 11 | www.twitch.tv/fritzischach | Marvin Henning |
| 16-T | MikhailTal-ReBorn | 250 | 11 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCBXLHqAoK7034O-tIGD-ksA | Saksham Singh |
| 16-T | ME_Mosharrof | 250 | 12 | www.twitch.tv/mosharrof | Mosharrof Hossain |
| 18 | gmjlh | 245 | 7 | www.twitch.tv/gmjlh | GM Jon Ludwig Hammer |
| 19 | ChessLover0108 | 230 | 8 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCWRsd9ffavDMpXxHmwi2ddg | IM Mahammad Muradli |
| 20-T | kbkhan91 | 225 | 10 | www.twitch.tv/kbkhan91 | Kaykobad Khan |
| 20-T | potatoboi007 | 225 | 11 | www.twitch.tv/potatoboi007 | Harshit Singh |
| 22 | gunank_yt | 210 | 7 | www.twitch.tv/gunank | Gunank Agarwal |
| 23-T | Blitzstream | 205 | 8 | www.twitch.tv/blitzstream | Kevin Bordi |
| 23-T | The_Blessed | 205 | 8 | www.youtube.com/channel/UC045f5ja4Ln5PsXI4n6u5pQ | Arian Piscoya Romero |
| 25 | JahnyErMjukur | 200 | 12 | www.twitch.tv/jahnyermjukur | Jonni Hafthorsson |
| 26 | OhanyanEminChess | 195 | 6 | www.youtube.com/channel/UC-pg99UwhhMpxBWTdE8XL0g | FM Emin Ohanyan |
| 27 | emiliochess | 190 | 5 | www.twitch.tv/mrchessmx | NM Emilio Castellanos |
| 28 | GMBenjaminBok | 185 | 6 | www.twitch.tv/gmbenjaminbok | GM Benjamin Bok |
| 29-T | hansontwitch | 180 | 2 | www.twitch.tv/gmhansn | GM Hans Niemann |
| 29-T | H3nriqueTV | 180 | 5 | www.twitch.tv/h3tv_ | NM Henrique Paiva |
| 29-T | Twitch_ElhamBlitz05 | 180 | 7 | www.twitch.tv/elhamblitz05 | FM Elham Abdrlauf |
| 32 | JeroenOnTwitch | 175 | 12 | www.twitch.tv/chessdreamstv | Jeroen Bottema |
| 33-T | MarcoRiehle | 165 | 9 | www.twitch.tv/chesshobbits99 | FM Marco Riehle |
| 33-T | Akshay_joglekar | 165 | 10 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCtKsYIdT2Qe8kR5Ng8VyijQ | Akshay Joglekar |
| 35-T | chessbrainiac13 | 160 | 11 | www.twitch.tv/chessbrainiac13 | James Chirilov |
| 35-T | hallvardhf | 160 | 11 | www.twitch.tv/hallvardhf | Hallvard Haug Flatebo |
| 35-T | leapmanpepa | 160 | 11 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCtYtGi6ED9_YLifjCaumPVQ | Edwin Vargas |
| 38 | GMHess | 150 | 5 | www.twitch.tv/gmhess | GM Robert Hess |
| 39-T | Arseniy_Nesterov | 140 | 9 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCev1BG00VIdNflNX_ZTg58g | GM Arseniy Nesterov |
| 39-T | deveshparashar | 140 | 10 | www.youtube.com/channel/UC_jxJA_rBCKmcpR7_A408xg | Devesh Parashar |
| 41-T | 25elevinTwitch | 130 | 3 | www.twitch.tv/25elevin | Eric Levin |
| 41-T | KeshavGupta1 | 130 | 4 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCjAbfK2K78bHyfWf9_CkAAQ | Keshav Gupta |
| 41-T | TigrVShlyape | 130 | 8 | www.twitch.tv/igmgatakamsky | GM Gata Kamsky |
| 41-T | diamondop | 130 | 9 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCaUY_EmSKy5tkCv1GC4JIIA | Rushil Shah |
| 45-T | Jay_Plays | 120 | 8 | www.youtube.com/channel/UC9psIhY-vHnLaOHHk6W0aFA | Jay. R. Gandhi |
| 45-T | Bobobrc | 120 | 12 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCbLd8JTLIOkUDjbMk0zKMuQ | Bogdan Cioata |
| 45-T | Manukyan_Artak | 120 | 12 | www.twitch.tv/nm_artman | NM Artak Manukyan |
| 48-T | arnavgm1758 | 115 | 9 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCqj4l3Kba8PJGwX0SJeaQFA | Arnav Maheshwari |
| 48-T | QuintilianoR | 115 | 9 | www.twitch.tv/quintilianor | IM Renato Quintiliano |
| 50-T | R_ANIRUDH | 110 | 7 | www.twitch.tv/chessguy1976 | Anirudh R |
| 50-T | anishnaik12 | 110 | 11 | www.youtube.com/c/AnishNaik | Anish Naik |
| 50-T | artliou | 110 | 11 | www.twitch.tv/artofattack | Art Liou |
| 50-T | babi3105 | 110 | 11 | www.twitch.tv/babichess | B. Ribeiro Araujo |
| 50-T | NikolaDubovik | 110 | 11 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCd_jjprIf7VTo_dyppgJa5Q | Nikolay Dubovik |
| 55-T | siddharthsarma_2003 | 105 | 3 | www.youtube.com/channel/UCFG6OW-V9vFa5KoKyIse0ew | Siddharth Sarma |
| 55-T | strider23cpk | 105 | 8 | www.twitch.tv/strider28cpk | Caleb Kircher |
| 55-T | druidrank | 105 | 9 | www.twitch.tv/druidrank | Ian Earley |
| 58-T | Dark_Attack | 100 | 10 | www.twitch.tv/lsoares | Luis Soares |
| 58-T | PossiblyRainz | 100 | 10 | www.twitch.tv/a_Rainz | Rugved Adavatkar |
The Championship was a two-hour arena where the top eight finishers advancing to the Championship Final. Martinez defeated GM Georg Meier (@georgmeier), Marvin Henning (@fritzischach_twitch), and IM Le on his way to winning the Final.
Nathaniel Green is a staff writer for Chess.com who writes articles, player biographies, Titled Tuesday reports, video scripts, and more. He has been playing chess for about 30 years and resides near Washington, DC, USA.
