The five-week “Candy Crush Saga” mobile game tournament has ended and one player has come out victorious: Tiago P. from Portugal.
Winner of the Candy Crush All-Stars 2025 championship, which held its in-person live final earlier this month in Los Angeles, hosted by Katie Linendoll. Tiago beat out more than 15 million hopeful players competing in the in-game tournament to join the 10 finalists in the live event.
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Following the big win, Tiago was awarded the $500,000 prize and a custom diamond encrusted championship ring from Icebox. Second place finalist was Ingrid R. from California, who earned a $250,000 prize. Aalja B. from Atlanta was in third with $100,000.
“I first started playing ‘Candy Crush’ in 2012 when the game became available on Facebook,” Tiago told Variety. “I was immediately drawn toward the enjoyment of completing levels and the challenge of beating my friends’ high scores. I took a strategic approach to tackling the Candy Crush All Stars tournament and across 10 months I meticulously planned my gameplay. From estimating how many candies I would need to collect per minute or even how many boosters I would need to keep up the pace. For the final knockout round, I even created print outs that had my points goal at the end of each hour to keep me motivated, I was in it for the win!”
The Candy Crush All Stars tournament, now in its fifth year, began with the in-game rounds on March 20. To win an invite to the live final, players needed to move through each stage collecting as many All Stars purple candies as possible, resulting in 11.4 trillion candies collected and 2.2 billion levels played, per King.
“We wanted Candy Crush All Stars to be more than just a regular tournament; it’s a celebration of the incredible dedication and skill our players bring to the game,” Luken Aragon, vice president of marketing for “Candy Crush Saga” at King, said. “For them, it goes far beyond just matching candies; it’s about challenging themselves, achieving personal bests, and embracing the thrill of competition. An invitation to the Live Final, together with the $1 million dollar prize pool, reflects the scale of our community’s passion and the growing potential we see for competitive play on mobile. It’s our way of recognizing our players and showcasing just how powerful and dynamic the mobile gaming landscape has become. That’s why we knew the prize had to be truly special, something as epic and rewarding as the journey our players take to get there.”
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