The Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 was opened in Paris, France, by the Esports Foundation. It’s the first international edition of the largest esports and gaming event in the world.
EWC will happen until August 23 at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. There are 25 tournaments in 24 popular games, participated in by over 2,000 elite players and 200 esports clubs from over 100 countries.
The World Cup has a record-breaking prize pool of USD75 million or Php4.6 billion.
Before flying to Paris, the elite players were chosen from over 1.5 million players who went through the EWC qualification program that consisted of 330 tournaments, publisher leagues, and premier international circuits.
Apart from the players, EWC will also reward the world’s best club across multiple games. USD30 million (~Php1.8 billion) will be awarded through the Club Championship standings, which includes USD7 million (~Php431.4 million) for the winning club.
Fans in over 160 countries can watch EWC live across 100 broadcast and OTT partners, and digital services and streaming platforms. In the Philippines, EWC should be available live through FOX Sports, HBO Max, CBS Sports Network, and more.
To reach more people, EWC has tapped up to 5,000 official co-streamers via a creator program.
EWC tournament games are as follows:
- 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
- Free Fire
- Honor of Kings
- League of Legends
- Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
- Overwatch 2
- PUBG MOBILE
- PUBG: Battlegrounds
- Rainbow Six Siege X
- Rocket League
- Street Fighter 6
- Teamfight Tactics,
- Tekken 8
- Trackmania
- VALORANT