EVW Sports opens the door for global host cities

Dexter Tan is using a short Eastside Arm Wrestling clip to sell a larger idea: EVW Sports wants local organizers to help bring its events to new countries and regions, turning the brand from a one-off supermatch series into a portable international product. Sabah served as the proof of concept, and the June 20-21 EVW SEA Qualifier and King of the Table: SEA event at Centre Point Sabah in Kota Kinabalu showed how the format can travel with a regional host city attached to it.

The next stop is Batumi, Georgia, where EVW 25 is set for August 1 at 8:00 PM local time. EVW’s homepage converts that start to 12:00 PM EST, 10:00 AM PST, 4:00 PM UTC, 6:00 PM CET and 8:00 PM GST, while listing pay-per-view at US$19.99 and tickets starting at US$59. EVW Sports says it is returning to Georgia for the second time, a sign that the company is already testing repeat markets instead of treating every stop as a one-off.

The card itself is built to travel. Vitaly Laletin is booked against Alizhan Muratov for the left-arm super heavyweight world title, Oleg Zhokh meets Luka Tsinadze for the left-arm welterweight world title, Daniel Procopciuc faces Vachagan Hovhannisyan for the left-arm lightweight world title, and Kamil Jablonski takes on Georgii Tsvetkov on the right arm. Those names matter because EVW’s business model depends on recognizable elite matchups carrying a premium stream and enough ticket pull to justify a live show in a new market.

Batumi Cup 2026 adds the other half of the equation. The East vs West community has announced the tournament for August 1 at the Grand Bellagio Hotel in Batumi as the official lead-in to EVW 25, with registration at weigh-ins and a path to earn a prelim-card spot. That is how the promotion tries to solve the talent-depth problem: create a local pipeline that can feed the main event, not just import stars and hope the crowd shows up.

Dexter Tan has said in an official Kiswe partnership announcement that EVW’s streaming and fan-engagement push is meant to help EVW Sports, East vs West Armwrestling and King of the Table bring armwrestling mainstream. Put together, the Sabah qualifier, the Batumi double-header and the streaming strategy point to a promotion trying to standardize the economics of armwrestling, with local partners, venue-ready cities and a clear route from regional bracket to global broadcast.