The Esports World Cup 2026 begins tomorrow at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles in France. The event runs from August 11 to 15, and the first Play-In matches start at 10:00 AM UTC. The tournament features 25 players from 14 countries.

Pairings for the Play-In stage:

1. 🇷🇺 Andrey Esipenko 🇨🇳 Wei Yi
2. 🇻🇳 Liem Le 🇺🇦 Oleksandr Bortnyk
3. 🇷🇺 Vladislav Artemiev 🇮🇷 Parham Maghsoodloo
4. 🇮🇳 Aravindh Chithambaram 🇷🇺 Alexander Grischuk

The event will feature 3 stages. In the Play-In stage, 8 players will play in a Double Elimination Bracket. In the Group stage, two 8-player groups will compete in a Double Elimination Bracket. In the Playoffs, 16 players will compete in a Single Elimination Bracket. All games will 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: Esports World Cup