Esports World Cup 2026 Kicks Off In A Week
The Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC 2026) kicks off in a week. The opening ceremony takes place in Paris on July 8, but by that time, several events will have already started.
Once under way, fans will see around 1,000 matches across 25 tournaments, played across 24 different titles. 2026 sees an increased prize pool of $75m, up from $71.5m last year, and more than 200 teams will compete for honours.
The Esports World Cup
The Esports World Cup launched in 2024 as a replacement for the Gamers8 tournament. It is run by the non-profit Esports World Cup Foundation, which, itself, is financed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). PIF has been in the headlines for setting up the breakaway golf tour, LIV, and then pulling funding.
The Prize Pool
The 2024 tournament had a $62.5m prize fund and featured 22 tournaments in 21 games. 2025 saw an increase in prize money to $71.5m, as well as an increase to 25 tournaments in 24 games.
$30m of this year’s prize pool is allocated to the Club Championship. Teams are awarded points for finishing in top positions in different tournaments. To be eligible for prize money, a team must win at least one event. Team Falcons, based in Riyadh, has won the two previous Championships and will be vying to retain their title.
The rest of the prize money will be handed out to clubs and players in different events.
EWC 2026
This year, there will be the same number of tournaments across the same number of games, but there has been a slight change in the game lineup. Fortnite has returned after a year off, this time using the Fortnite Reload mode.
Trackmania is making its first appearance, basically replacing Rennsport. StarCraft II’s omission means there are no Real-Time Strategy titles in this year’s tournament.
Previous EWCs have been held in Riyadh. But while this year’s competition was also set for Riyadh, the conflict in Iran led to it being moved to Paris.
Legacy
According to organisers, last year’s event attracted 3 million visitors to Boulevard Riyadh City. Online, it saw 340 million viewing hours and had a peak viewership of 7.5 million for the League of Legends final.
