The second day of the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris has concluded. Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov defeated all opponents in the Upper Bracket. They secured 4 of the 8 slots in the Playoffs. Matches for the remaining 4 slots will be played on August 13.

In the first round, 🇷🇺 Ian Nepomniachtchi lost to 🇺🇸 Hans Moke Niemann 1-2 and dropped to the Lower Bracket Quarterfinals. In the second round, Niemann lost to 🇳🇴 Magnus Carlsen 0.5-1.5 and dropped to the Lower Bracket Semifinals.

Pairings for the remaining Group Stage A games:

🇨🇳 Wei Yi - 🇮🇳 Nihal Sarin

🇮🇳 Arjun Erigaisi - TBD

🇳🇱 Benjamin Bok - 🇮🇳 Pranesh M

🇵🇱 Jan-Krzysztof Duda - TBD

Pairings for Group Stage B:

🇷🇺 Ian Nepomniachtchi - 🇷🇺 Andrey Esipenko

🇺🇸 Hans Moke Niemann - TBD

🇮🇷 Sina Movahed - 🇷🇸 Alexey Sarana

🇧🇾 Denis Lazavik – TBD

The event features 3 stages. In the Play-In stage, 8 players competed in a Double Elimination Bracket. In the Group stage, two 8-player groups compete in a Double Elimination Bracket. In the Playoffs, 8 players will compete in a Single Elimination Bracket. All games feature a 10+0 time control.

The Esports World Cup is an annual international gaming tournament and festival. The chess tournament at the 2026 edition of the EWC features a $1,500,000 prize fund. The Grand Final playoffs will take place on August 15.

Credit: Team Liquid X