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2026 Esports World Cup

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2026 Esports World Cup
Tournament information
SportEsports
LocationParis, France
Dates6 July–23 August
AdministratorEsports Foundation
Tournaments supervised by ESL
Number of
events
25 in 24 esports
Purse$75 million
Websiteesportsworldcup.com
← 2025
2027 →

The 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) will be the third edition of the Esports World Cup, an annual international esports tournament series run by the Esports Foundation (EF), a nonprofit organization funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. It will take place in Paris, France from 6 July to 23 August 2026 and is set to feature 25 events in 24 esports.

The event was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as it had for the prior two editions and both editions of Gamers8, EWC's predecessor. However, it was moved to Paris this year.

This year will feature one new game in the main lineup, the racing game Trackmania (2020), while Fortnite will make its return to the EWC, this time using the Reload game mode. On the other hand, Rennsport and StarCraft II will not be present this year. Due to their series' annual game releases, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and EA Sports FC 26 will replace Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and EA Sports FC 25, respectively, in the game lineup.

Similar to the first two EWCs, each game will host at least one event, some are standalone events while others are part of a larger competitive circuit. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang remains as the only game to host two events. A total of $75 million will distributed across all events, an increase from $71.5 million in 2025.

Background

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On 8 October 2025, the EWC announced the first 20 games that will be included as part of the lineup. Out of the 24 games that were part of the main lineup in 2025, Rennsport, Rocket League, StarCraft II, and Tekken 8 weren't listed among the initial returning games.[1] On 11 October, Tekken 8 was confirmed to return as the 21st game in the lineup.[2]

On 17 December, the EWC announced that it entered a three-year partnership with Epic Games that would see two of its games, Fortnite and Rocket League, host EWC events through 2028. The latter was featured in both of the previous EWCs while the former returns to the lineup after it was featured in 2024. In the case of Fortnite, rather than the game being played on the game's Battle Royale mode (during Gamers8, the predecessor of the Esports World Cup) or in custom maps made using the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (as was the case for 2024), the event will instead be played in Fortnite Reload, a variation of the Battle Royale mode, as part of the Fortnite Reload Elite Series.[3] Trackmania (2020) was announced as the 24th and final game on 19 January 2026, which will also mark the game's EWC debut.[4]

The exclusion of StarCraft II from the lineup meant that the 2026 EWC will not feature any real-time strategy games, which caused criticism from creators and fans from the StarCraft II and RTS communities.[5][6] Rennsport is the only other game dropped from the main lineup.

Move to Paris

[edit]

On 14 May 2026, it was reported in GamesBeat that the Esports Foundation had communicated to stakeholders surrounding EWC that the event would move from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Paris, France. The move was cited as a response to uncertainty in the Middle East region due to the 2026 Iran war, which has seen Iran and its allies attack Saudi infrastructure.[7] The war had already caused the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Formula One to not take place as scheduled in April.[8][9] This was confirmed by the Esports Foundation on 20 May,[10] with the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles later announced as the host venue. Paris has hosted multiple major esports events, including the 2019 League of Legends World Championship Final, 2023's BLAST.tv Paris Major in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and the 2025 Valorant Champions, among others.

Format

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Club Championship

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The Club Championship is a cross-game competition within the Esports World Cup. The championship will give out a total of US$30 million among the top 24 clubs (used by the EWC in place of "organization"), determined by their overall performance in various games throughout the event. To qualify for the Club Championship, a club has to finish in the top 8 in at least two competitions, and to win the championship title, the club also has to secure first place in at least one competition. Only participants who were publicly announced as part of their respective organization before 1 May 2026 and registered as a representative before 26 May are eligible to earn points for their club. Below is a breakdown of the points awarded based on placement in the individual game championships:

Point distribution per event[a]
Pos. Points Pos. Points
1 1000 5 200
2 750 6 150
3 500 7 100
4 300 8 50

Club Partner Program

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The Esports Foundation's Club Partner Program (formerly the Club Support Program) is an initiative designed to provide substantial financial assistance to selected esports organizations. Through this program, chosen teams receive annual financial support to enhance their operations and create more opportunities for professional players. The program was kept to cover 40 organizations, the same number as in 2025.[11]

The 40 teams represented the five major competitive regions — Europe, North America, Asia, South America, and the Middle East — with the majority of the teams being primarily based in Europe or Asia. The initial list was revealed on 31 March 2026, accompanying the Esports World Cup Foundation's renaming to the Esports Foundation; it was leaked to Sheep Esports on 30 March.[12] Several teams from the 2025 Club Partner Program, including LOUD, Bilibili Gaming, EVOS Esports and most notably FaZe Clan, did not get accepted, while 2024 Club Support Program member NRG Esports returns after missing out in 2025.[13] HEROIC was later removed from the program after the removal of their Dota 2 roster, leaving Counter-Strike 2 as the sole game they competed in.[14][15] They agreed to void the slot by mutual decision. Karmine Corp, who had initially missed out on the program, would be announced as their replacement on 19 May.

Europe
North America
Asia
South America
Middle East

Calendar

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Most of the calendar was unveiled on 20 January 2026, with the exceptions of Fortnite Reload, PUBG Mobile, and Rocket League. Like last year, the events will be held across a seven-week calendar.

●Competitions days
July/August 2026 July August
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Apex Legends ● ● ● ● ●
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 ● ● ● ● ●
Call of Duty: Warzone ● ● ● ●
Chess ● ● ● ● ●
Counter-Strike 2 ● ● ● ●
Crossfire ● ● ● ● ●
Dota 2 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
EA Sports FC 26 ● ● ● ● ●
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves ● ● ● ●
Fortnite Reload ● ● ● ●
Free Fire ● ● ● ●
Honor of Kings ● ● ● ●
League of Legends ● ● ● ● ●
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Men's ● ● ● ●
Women's ● ● ● ● ●
Overwatch ● ● ● ● ●
PUBG: Battlegrounds ● ● ● ● ● ●
PUBG Mobile ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Rainbow Six Siege ● ● ● ●
Rocket League ● ● ● ● ●
Street Fighter 6 ● ● ● ●
Teamfight Tactics ● ● ● ● ●
Tekken 8 ● ● ● ●
Trackmania ● ● ● ● ●
Valorant ● ● ● ●

Results

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Event winners

[edit]
Event Gold Silver Bronze
Apex Legends[f]
details
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
details
Call of Duty: Warzone
details
Chess[g]
details
CrossFire[h]
details
Counter-Strike 2
details
Dota 2[i]
details
EA Sports FC 26[j]
details
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
details
Fortnite Reload[k]
details
Free Fire[l]
details
Honor of Kings[m]
details
League of Legends[n]
details
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Men[o]
details
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Women[p]
details
Overwatch[q]
details
PUBG: Battlegrounds[r]
details
PUBG Mobile[s]
details
Rainbow Six Siege X[t]
details
Rocket League
details
Street Fighter 6[u]
details
Teamfight Tactics[n][v]
details
Tekken 8[w]
details
Trackmania
details
Valorant[n]
details


Prize pool

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The 2026 Esports World Cup will feature a prize pool of US$75 million, which surpasses the $71.5 million from last year. $30 million is allocated for the top 24 teams in this year's Club Championship, an increase from $27 million last year, though the champion club will still receive $7 million. $39 million will be distributed across the 25 events for their respective prize pools.[16]

Prize money distribution
Category Prize
Club Championship $30,000,000
Game Championships $39,000,000
Qualifiers $6,000,000
MVP Awards $475,000 ($25,000 per title)
Jafonso Awards[x] Up to $400,000 ($50,000 per title)
Club Championship prize money distribution
Pos. Team Prize Pos. Team Prize
1 $7,000,000 13 $450,000
2 $5,000,000 14 $400,000
3 $4,000,000 15 $350,000
4 $3,000,000 16 $300,000
5 $2,000,000 17 $275,000
6 $1,400,000 18 $250,000
7 $1,150,000 19 $225,000
8 $950,000 20 $200,000
9 $800,000 21 $175,000
10 $650,000 22 $150,000
11 $550,000 23 $125,000
12 $500,000 24 $100,000


Notes

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  1. ↑ For events with no tiebreakers, 3–4 receive 500 points and/or 5–8 receive 200 points.
  2. ↑ Karmine Corp was initially not included in the Club Partner Program but were added later, replacing HEROIC.
  3. ↑ For Club Championship purposes, Ninjas in Pyjamas are known as "NIP.Estar", as NIP Group also own Chinese organization Estar Pro.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Team qualified for the Club Partner Program as one of the top 8 clubs in the 2025 Club Championship.
  5. ↑ For Club Championship purposes, All Gamers are known as "AG.AL Esports International" (or just AG.AL), as the organization includes All Gamers (based in China), All Gamers Global (for players outside of China), All Combo (the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang division of All Gamers based in Malaysia) and Anyone's Legend (most notably the League of Legends division of All Gamers).
  6. ↑ Known as the ALGS Year 6 Split 1 Playoffs, part of the Apex Legends Global Series.
  7. ↑ Takes the place of the Tour Finals for the Champions Chess Tour 2025–2026.
  8. ↑ Takes the place of the CrossFire Stars Summer Championship 2026.
  9. ↑ Formerly known as the Riyadh Masters during prior editions of Gamers8 (EWC's predecessor) and the Esports World Cup. The tournament takes the place of the Tour Finals for the ESL Pro Tour 2026.
  10. ↑ Known as the FC Pro World Championship 2026.
  11. ↑ Known as the Fortnite Reload Elite Series Championship, part of the Fortnite Reload Elite Series.
  12. ↑ Tournament is part of the Free Fire World Series.
  13. ↑ Known as the Honor of Kings World Cup 2026; also featuring teams from Arena of Valor.
  14. 1 2 3 This event is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Riot Games, but the tournament is officially sanctioned by the developers.
  15. ↑ Known as the MLBB Mid Season Cup 2026.
  16. ↑ Known as the MLBB Women's International 2026.
  17. ↑ Known as the OWCS Midseason Championship 2026, part of the Overwatch Champions Series.
  18. ↑ Tournament is part of the PUBG Global Championship.
  19. ↑ Known as the PUBG Mobile World Cup 2026, part of the PUBG Mobile Global Championship.
  20. ↑ Tournament contains a qualification berth to the Six Invitational 2027.
  21. ↑ Tournament is part of the Capcom Pro Tour.
  22. ↑ Tournament utilizes four-player teams (or less) instead of the conventional 1v1 competitive format.
  23. ↑ Tournament contains a qualification berth to the Tekken World Tour Finals 2027.
  24. ↑ To be awarded if a team or player who qualified via a Last Chance Qualifier wins a tournament (only active for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Chess, Counter-Strike 2, EA Sports FC 26, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Rocket League, Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8). It is named after João "Jafonso" Vasconcellos, who won the EA Sports FC tournament at the 2024 Esports World Cup having qualified from the Last Chance Qualifier.

References

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  1. ↑ Harbinson, Darragh (8 October 2025). "EWC announce first 20 titles for EWC 2026; four more yet to be announced". Esports News UK. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  2. ↑ @EWC_EN (10 October 2025). "TEKKEN 8 is confirmed for EWC 2026! See you in Riyadh, fighters 👊" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  3. ↑ Hale, Jacob (17 December 2025). "Fortnite and Rocket League Announced for Esports World Cup 2026". esports.net. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  4. ↑ Banik, Sourav (19 January 2026). "Trackmania completes EWC 2026's massive 24-title lineup". Dot Esports. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  5. ↑ Nicholson, Jonno (20 January 2026). ""A huge blow": StarCraft II community reacts to Esports World Cup omission". Esports Insider. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  6. ↑ Taylor-Hill, Grant (20 January 2026). "StarCraft II Won't Be At EWC 2026, Nor Will Any Other RTS Title". Insider Gaming. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  7. ↑ Lee, Alexander (14 May 2026). "Esports World Cup to relocate from Riyadh to Paris amid Middle East conflict". GamesBeat. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  8. ↑ Cleeren, Filip (14 March 2026). "Bahrain and Saudi Arabia F1 races officially called off as Iran conflict rages". Autosport. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  9. ↑ "Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs will not take place in April". Formula One. 14 March 2026. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  10. ↑ Švejda, Milan (20 May 2026). "Official: Esports World Cup moved to Paris". HLTV.org. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  11. ↑ Nicholson, Jonno (10 December 2024). "Esports World Cup Foundation expands partner programme to 40 organisations". Esports Insider. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  12. ↑ Gomis, Alejandro; Phalip, Coretin (30 March 2026). "Sources: The list of the 40 EWC 2026 partner clubs". Sheep Esports. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  13. ↑ Banerjee, Rijit (31 March 2026). "Esports Foundation confirms Club Partner Program 2026 lineup, $1M funding per team". Dot Esports. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  14. ↑ Ahmed, Wasif (16 May 2026). "HEROIC exits EWC Club Partner Program after Dota 2 departure, leaves CS2 as sole title". win.gg. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  15. ↑ Xu, Davide (17 May 2026). "HEROIC removed from Esports World Cup Club Partner Program". Hotspawn. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  16. ↑ Hale, Jacob (20 January 2026). "Esports World Cup 2026 Prize Pool Finally Revealed & It's Bigger Than Ever". esports.net. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
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