2026 Esports World Cup

The 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) was 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 took place in Paris, France from 2 July to 23 August 2026 and featured 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 amid security concerns related to the 2026 Iran war.

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

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

Background On 8 October 2025, the EWC announced the first 20 games that were 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. On 11 October, Tekken 8 was confirmed to return as the 21st game in the lineup.

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 was played in Fortnite Reload, a variation of the Battle Royale mode, as part of the Fortnite Reload Elite Series. Trackmania (2020) was announced as the 24th and final game on 19 January 2026, which also marked the game's EWC debut.

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

Move to Paris On 14 May 2026, it was reported 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. The war had already caused the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Formula One to not take place as scheduled in April. The relocation was later confirmed by the Esports Foundation on 20 May, with the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles announced as the new host venue. On July 2026, it was announced that the Accor Arena would host the finals of the 2026 Esports World Cup Counter-Strike 2 tournament. 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

Club Championship The Club Championship was a cross-game competition within the Esports World Cup. The championship gave out a total of 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 had to finish in the top 8 in at least two competitions, and to win the championship title, the club also had 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 Points Points 1 1000 5 200 2 750 6 150 3 500 7 100 4 300 8 50

Club Partner Program The Esports Foundation's Club Partner Program (formerly the Club Support Program) was 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.

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. 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 returns after missing out in 2025. 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. 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 Fnatic FUT Esports G2 Esports Gentle Mates Karmine Corp MOUZ Natus Vincere Ninjas in Pyjamas Team Heretics Team Liquid Team Secret Team Spirit Team Vitality Virtus.pro

North America 100 Thieves Cloud9 NRG Sentinels

Asia All Gamers Edward Gaming GAM Esports Gen.G Esports GodLike Esports JD Gaming ONIC Esports REJECT Rex Regum Qeon S8UL Esports T1 Titan Esports Club Weibo Gaming Wolves Esports ZETA DIVISION

South America 9z Alpha7 Esports Fluxo W7M FURIA Leviatán

Middle East Team Falcons Twisted Minds

Calendar 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 were held across a seven-week calendar.

●Last chance qualifiers●Main competition days●Finals

July/August 2026 July August Kickoff Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 2 3 4 5 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

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| Call of Duty: Black Ops 7

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| Call of Duty: Warzone

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| Chess

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| Counter-Strike 2

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| EA Sports FC 26

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| Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

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| Fortnite Reload

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| Honor of Kings

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| League of Legends

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| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Men's

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| Women's

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| Overwatch

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| PUBG: Battlegrounds

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| PUBG Mobile

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| Rainbow Six Siege

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2026 Esports World Cup

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