24 players. 4 days. $16,000.

The GeoGuessr World Cup is here.

Through years of training and experience, pro GeoGuessr players have learned to pinpoint Google Street View locations from around the world with uncanny accuracy. We've had great highlights over the years, from GeoGuessr content creator Trevor Rainbolt nailing down guesses from Colombia to Laos, or GeoWizard, the original GeoGuessr YouTuber, miraculously find a street intersection in Touba, Senegal.

Just last year, GeoGuessr launched the first-ever World Cup, bringing 24 top GeoGuessr players from around the world to crown an official world champion. In the end, Consus emerged victorious, defeating Blinky in the final. You can relive Consus' winning moment from that World Cup here.

But it's a new year. And that means higher stakes. While the $16,000 grand prize is the same as 2023, the field has improved dramatically. With 8 of 24 players remaining in the tournament, it's realistically anyone's championship to win.

The top half of the finals bracket is set, and it's absolutely stacked:

• Consus is looking to defend the title he won last year. But with only a 3-2 record in the group stage, he needed to go through an additional knockout round to make it to the weekend bracket. Will he be able to fend off the fatigue?

• Blinky, hoping to avenge his 2023 finals loss, looked completely in control with a 5-0 record in the group stage, including a win against Consus. He faces him again to lead off the bracket on Saturday. Can he repeat the feat? Can he win it all?

• Radu C made it to the semifinals last year and made a statement in the group stage with a dominant 5-0 record. He only got in by winning a last-minute wild card qualifier... but could this be his year?

• Fau also made it to the semifinals last year, but didn't fare as well as Radu C in the group stage, only going 3-2 with a +0 game difference. That's the worst out of the final eight, in what observers dubbed the easiest group (Group D). Is that a warning sign for his chances against Radu C?

It is undeniably strange that our four semifinalists from 2023 are all in the same half of the bracket. Does that make the rest of the bracket a pushover? Not necessarily! Let's take a closer look:

• Topotic won the 2024 EMEA regional tournament, widely considered the most difficult regional tournament, to qualify for the World Cup. On the way, he notched wins against Consus and Kratsooo. Can he continue that success all the way to the title?

• Orlando was the runner-up in the 2024 Americas regional tournament, narrowly losing the final to Gingey. But Gingey's now out of the tournament, while Orlando progressed through the knockout round to reach the last eight. Can he mount a Cinderella run this year?

• Kratsooo was the runner-up in the 2024 EMEA regional tournament, losing to Topotic. He went 3-2 in the group stage, but dispatched Eamonn in the knockout round to become the last person to qualify for the final eight. Can he make it count?

• mk qualified last-minute for the World Cup by winning the Online Wildcard Tournament. It was difficult for me to judge his skill level based on that alone, but a 4-1 record in the group stage spoke for itself. Could he be this year's dark horse?

A note on Trevor Rainbolt, perhaps the best-known GeoGuessr pro. Though he's a formidable player himself, he's not playing in the World Cup, choosing to commentate instead.

Who will win it all? We'll have our answer by the close of play on September 14.

You can follow the last day of the World Cup on Twitch on September 14 from 15:00 CEST (6:00 PT / 9:00 ET) to 22:00 CEST (13:00 PT / 16:00 ET). Alternatively, follow the bracket here (scroll down).

An exciting finish awaits!

I will not trade on this market.