The Esports Foundation confirmed Paris as the host city for the Esports World Cup 2026, marking the tournament's first edition outside Riyadh. (Image: Esports Foundation)
Esports World Cup 2026 Moves to Paris From Riyadh
Paris will host the $75 million tournament from July 6 to August 23, becoming the first city outside Riyadh to stage the seven-week event.
The Esports Foundation on Wednesday confirmed that the third edition of the Esports World Cup will be held in Paris from July 6 to August 23, the first time the $75 million tournament will run outside Saudi Arabia since its 2024 launch.
In a statement issued from Riyadh and Paris, the foundation said the decision followed "an extended evaluation process" and was taken "in light of the current regional situation." The seven-week event will keep its existing format, dates and prize pool, and continues to expect more than 2,000 players and 200 clubs from over 100 countries to compete across 25 tournaments in 24 games.
Ralf Reichert, chief executive of the Esports Foundation, was photographed at the Élysée Palace alongside French President Emmanuel Macron on May 19, a day before the announcement went public. "Riyadh is the home of EWC and one of the world's leading hubs for esports," Reichert said in the statement, framing Paris as the start of an international rotation rather than a permanent move.
The confirmation ends nearly a week of speculation. GamesBeat reporter Alexander Lee first reported on May 14 that organisers had begun telling stakeholders the tournament would shift to Paris, citing three sources with access to internal communications. Outlook Respawn also separately confirmed the shift later that day.
Why Paris, and why now
The Esports World Cup is the centrepiece of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 push into competitive gaming, backed by the Public Investment Fund through Savvy Games Group. Moving the event off Saudi soil for a year is therefore a significant operational concession, though the foundation has stopped short of citing security concerns directly.
The 2026 edition covers Valorant, League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, Call of Duty, Fortnite, Street Fighter 6, Overwatch, Rocket League and Trackmania, among others.
How the 2026 prize pool compares
The 2026 prize pool sits at "$75 million+," a roughly $5 million increase on the 2025 edition, which the foundation had pegged at over $70 million. The 2024 inaugural tournament carried a $60 million pool. The Club Championship, which underwent a rules and deadlines overhaul earlier this year, remains the headline prize at $30 million. Individual game championships, qualifier rewards and MVP bonuses make up the rest of the distribution, with qualification pathways drawn from the foundation's Road to EWC 2026 program covering more than 230 tournaments worldwide.
The foundation said the 2025 edition reached more than 750 million viewers worldwide and generated 350 million hours watched, with peak concurrent viewership close to 8 million across 28 platforms and 97 broadcast partners.
Indian representation at EWC 2026
India will be represented by two organisations in the Club Partner Program: S8UL Esports and GodLike Esports, both selected for a second consecutive year. GodLike, which fields rosters across BGMI, Free Fire and other mobile titles, will run its own qualification campaign across the season.
Indian Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram, who plays under the S8UL banner, became the first Indian to qualify for the EWC Chess main event after winning the Road to EWC qualifier at DreamHack Atlanta earlier this month. S8UL Grandmasters Nihal Sarin and Pranesh M remain in contention through other qualifier paths. S8UL is competing across qualifiers for 13 titles in total, including BGMI, Apex Legends, Call of Duty Warzone, EA Sports FC, Tekken 8 and Trackmania. Its PUBG presence is anchored by the Team QM roster signed in April.
The Paris move shortens travel time for European clubs but adds visa and logistics complexity for several Asian and South American organisations that had built around a Riyadh base. For Indian teams, Paris also opens up the possibility of a larger on-ground fan presence, given direct connectivity from Delhi and Mumbai and the city's existing Indian diaspora.
Venue details, ticketing updates and the final qualifier slots across remaining titles are expected over the next two weeks. The Esports Nations Cup, the foundation's separate national-team competition, remains scheduled for Riyadh in November 2026.
Author
Vignesh Raghuram is the Editor of Outlook Respawn, where he leads editorial strategy across gaming, esports, and pop culture. With a decade of experience in gaming journalism, he has established himself as a trusted voice in the industry.
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