The Esports World Cup 2026 is set to formally begin on July 6 with Week 1 of the seven-week event kicking off proceedings in Paris.
Insider Gaming has all you need to know to follow all the action as the first three trophies of EWC 2026 will be decided at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.
Valorant at the Esports World Cup 2026
Dates: July 2-12
Prize pool: $2,000,000
1st place: $600,000
EWC 2026’s Valorant tournament is already underway in ‘Week 0’ of EWC in Paris, with the group stage starting on July 2. Week 1 will see the conclusion of the groups from July 6-7, and playoffs begin on July 9.
The EWC format is a substantial diversion from VCT’s usual international playoffs, with playoffs featuring a single-elimination eight-team bracket. There will be no room for error as Valorant’s elite clash in the July 9-12 playoffs.
The EWC Valorant Groups notably feature a gruelling ‘Group of Death’ with Group B featuring Paper Rex, Vitality, Karmine Corp, and Valorant Champions 2025 winners, NRG.
Despite the tough group, Paper Rex will be hoping to claim the title after narrowly missing out on Valorant Masters London glory. One more Grand Finals loss, and the roster is under threat of becoming the Fnatic of 2026.
You can see our full breakdown of the groups here.
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Dota 2 at the Esports World Cup 2026
Dates: July 7-19
Prize pool: $2,000,000
First place: $750,000
The Esports World Cup has never been more important for the Dota 2 scene, representing a prize pool that now outweighs The International in terms of winnings.
The tournament is the focus of the ESL Pro Tour (EPT) Points that qualified 12 of the 24 rosters at the event, with the remaining 12 coming from regional qualifiers and tournaments, as well as the past winner’s spot which Team Spirit holds.
With the financial situation surrounding Dota 2 starkly highlighted by Heroic’s withdrawal from the Dota 2 scene, the tournament may prove vital to organizations.
None more so than 1w (aka 1win), who will be looking to make a strong start in their new organization. The former Tundra roster are grouped with fellow hard-hitters Yandex in Group D as they look to make a positive start under their new umbrella.
The International 2025 winners, Team Falcons, will also be targeting the event, with EWC an event of special importance to the Saudi org. The team now holds the record for the longest time together as a five-man roster, but has not won a trophy since Fissure Playground 2 in November of last year.
EWC 2026’s Dota 2 event features four groups of six in a round-robin format. The group winners will advance to the eight-team single-elimination playoffs, with the teams in 2nd-4th moving to the ‘Survival’ play-in stage to decide the remaining four teams.
Playoffs will run from July 16-19, making Dota 2 a two-week event at the Esports World Cup 2026.
Apex Legends at the Esports World Cup 2026
Dates: July 07-11
Prize pool: $2,000,000
First place: $600,000
Apex Legends will see the culmination of the first half of the Apex Legends competitive calendar conclude with the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) 2026 Split 1 Playoffs.
Zeta Division, Wolves Esports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Aurora enter their respective groups as the split winners from their regions, but Apex LANs have never exactly gone to script in the past.
With the Grand Finals featuring Apex Legends’ iconic Match Point Format, the action is sure to deliver twists and turns as legendary names like Phillip ‘ImperialHal’ Dosen, Rhys ‘Zer0’ Perry, and Brody ‘Xynew’ Geissler compete for the first prize of $600,000 and 3,000 CS Points as they aim to make the ALGS 2027 Championship in Sapporo, Japan.
As always with Apex, the event will be a rapid fight for survival with groups running July 7-9, a last-chance survival round on July 10, and the Finals on July 11.
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves at the Esports World Cup 2026
Dates: July 08-11
Prize pool: $1,000,000
First place: Unknown, but likely to be $300,000 as per EWC 2025 distribution
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves features a bumper $1,000,000 prize pool, over 18 times the total prize pool of Evo 2026 in Las Vegas. That makes EWC the financial event for Fatal Fury players, and for fighting games in general.
Zeng ‘Xiao Hai’ Zhuojun took that EVO title only a few days ago, as well as Evo Japan 2026 in May. That makes him one of the strongest contenders for the title this year, but EWC 2025 champion Goichi ‘GO1’ Kishid is one of many legendary FGC figures in his way.
Kazuyuki ‘KojiKOG’ Koji, Abraham ‘SHADOW X’ Granados, and Luis Guadalupe ‘DarkAngel’ Castillo Gomez are amongst the other entrants, all due to tournament wins in 2026.
That’s it for main events in Week 1 of EWC, but there’s more action on the cards as the EA FC 2026 FC Pro 26 World Championship LCQ and Play-Ins are decided in Week 1 before the main event starts on Week 3. Insider Gaming will provide a full breakdown of the FC Pro 26 World Championship as Week 3 approaches.
That’s not to forget the EWC Opening Ceremony, which will take place at Paris’ La Seine Musicale on July 8 and will feature Aya Nakamura, DJ Snake, and Theodora.
What’s your favourite ever esports opening ceremony? Share your memories with us on the Insider Gaming Discord.
Additionally, the full Esports World Cup 2026 schedule is out now with a full breakdown of all seven weeks.
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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