Esports World Cup 2026 leaves Saudi Arabia and moves to Paris
The third edition of the Esports World Cup will not take place in Riyadh. With the regional tensions caused by the conflict between Iran and the United States making the logistics unfeasible, the organization announced Paris as the new venue – less than 50 days before the opening, scheduled for July 6. A short deadline. An enormous change.
Everything changes, except what matters
Despite the last-minute stage switch, the calendar remains intact: the tournament runs from July 6 to August 23, with the same 25 competitions originally announced. The total prize pool reaches nearly 75 million dollars, split between the individual tournaments for each game and the overall Club Championship, which distributes 30 million dollars among the clubs with the best cumulative performance.
The fight for the top is dominated by the big names. Team Falcons, Team Vitality and Team Liquid – the 2025 podium – arrive as natural favorites to absorb the largest share of the prize. The club that wins the overall ranking takes home 7 million dollars. Not by chance, these organizations tend to assemble rosters capable of competing in multiple titles at the same time.
25 games, seven weeks, everything on the line
The lineup is the most robust in the event’s history. The titles range from VALORANT and Counter-Strike 2 to Chess and Trackmania, passing through classics like Dota 2, League of Legends and Street Fighter 6. For some games, the EWC is just another stage of the annual circuit. For others, it’s the most important tournament of the year.
That’s the case with Apex Legends: the Split 1 Playoffs takes place within the event, in Paris. EA SPORTS FC 26 hosts the Solo World Championship. Overwatch 2, Rainbow Six Siege and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang hold their international mid-seasons in the same period – with some of them still distributing points to the publishers’ official circuits.
The context the venue change doesn’t erase
The EWC was born as a centerpiece of the Vision 2030 strategy, backed by a 38 billion dollar investment from the PIF sovereign fund to position the country as a global gaming and esports hub. The idea: modernize the kingdom’s image and diversify the economy via digital entertainment.
But the project never escaped criticism. Organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch classified the initiative as “sportswashing” – the use of sport to divert attention from issues such as restrictions on freedom of expression, the criminalization of LGBTQ+ people and allegations of abuse of migrant labor rights. The move to Paris, although forced by geopolitics, ends up fueling that debate: what happens to the EWC when Saudi Arabia cannot be the host?
For now, the tournament goes on. Paris hosts. And 75 million dollars remain up for grabs.
