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The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has announced the schedule for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC 2026), and the tournament is going to give out an unprecedented US $75 million in prize money. This amount is equivalent to the US $24 million that the winner of the 2025 Copa Libertadores final tournament will receive.
The tournament is going to take place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, from July 6th to August 23rd. The tournament is going to take place over seven consecutive weeks. Throughout the tournament, matches will take place in multiple venues in the city of Riyadh and will welcome players and teams from all over the world for what is going to be one of the biggest Esports events ever held.
Structure and Global Reach of the Tournament
EWC 2026 is going to have more than 2,000 players and 200 teams from more than 100 nations. The tournament is going to have a total of 25 tournaments and 24 game titles. This is going to further strengthen the tournament’s multi-game structure and the simultaneous competitions that take place in the tournament. This is going to allow fans to watch more than one Esports category at the same time. The use of multiple venues in the city of Riyadh is going to increase the capacity of the tournament and the diversity of the experience that the fans get when watching the tournament. Global Reach of the Tournament
Global broadcasting is going to play a major role in the tournament, and it is going to maintain the international reach model that has been in place in the tournament for the last few years.
How the EWC Club Championship Works
One of the most unique aspects of this tournament is the EWC Club Championship, which aims to identify the best-performing esports club in all of the different game titles included in the tournament. For this tournament, the organization has announced plans to give away US$ 30 million for the top 24 teams in the overall ranking system, an increase of US$ 3 million compared to the previous year.
As such, the winning club in the championship event will be rewarded with US$ 7 million. In this manner, the ranking system assumes a higher degree of strategic value for teams.
Confirmed Games and Audience Data
The official lineup of games for EWC 2026 has been announced, featuring League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Valorant, EA Sports FC 26, Free Fire, PUBG Mobile, and Street Fighter 6. New games for this year’s event are Fortnite and Trackmania.
The sale of tickets for EWC 2026 commenced on January 22 through the tournament’s official website.
The massive popularity of the tournament can be gauged from the fact that the 2025 tournament attracted 750 million viewers across the world. The tournament achieved a high of 7.98 million concurrent viewers for the event. In addition, the tournament attracted over 3 million in-person viewers in Riyadh.
Source: iGaming Brasil
