The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has officially launched the “blockbuster” for the 2026 season. Accordingly, the Esports World Cup (EWC) – the largest esports event on the planet – will return to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from July 6 to August 23, 2026, with a total prize pool of up to 75 million USD.
This is a record number that affirms the position of EWC in the global esports ecosystem. This year’s event will gather more than 2,000 players and 200 top clubs from over 100 countries, competing over 7 weeks to determine the ultimate champion.
The attractive prize structure: The core difference of EWC is to honor the collective strength of clubs (Club Championship) rather than focusing solely on individual games.
30 million USD is allocated for the Club Championship category (an increase of 3 million USD from last year). The champion club will “pocket” 7 million USD. More than 39 million USD is the total prize money for championships in individual game titles. The remainder will be allocated for individual awards (MVP), qualifying prizes, and side events.
Mr. Ralf Reichert, CEO of EWCF, shared that this enormous prize pool is a long-term commitment to support players and clubs – the pillars of the global esports ecosystem. Specifically, he stated: “We established this massive prize pool to support the pillars of esports – the players and clubs that have made long-term investments in this discipline. EWC stands out with its club championship format. Rather than only honoring the champion in a single discipline, EWC will identify the best club across all game titles.”
List of 24 officially competing disciplines at EWC 2026
MOBA: League of Legends (LoL), Dota 2, Honor of Kings, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. FPS/Shooter: CS2, Valorant, PUBG Mobile, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Free Fire, Overwatch 2, Call of Duty (Black Ops 7 & Warzone), Rainbow Six Siege, Apex Legends, Crossfire. Fighting/Sports/Strategy: Street Fighter 6, TEKKEN 8, EA Sports FC 26, Rocket League, Teamfight Tactics (TFT), Chess…
Tickets for EWC 2026 will officially go on sale from January 22, 2026, on the event’s official website esportsworldcup.com and through international partners. Following the success of 2025 (attracting 750 million viewers globally), the 2026 season promises to continue to explode with even larger scale and higher quality organization.
The 2026 event follows the success of the Esports World Cup 2025. In its second year of organization, EWC reached 750 million viewers worldwide, recording 350 million hours watched, with the highest concurrent viewership hitting 7.98 million during the League of Legends tournament. The event was broadcast on 28 platforms through 97 broadcasting partners and over 800 channels in 35 languages. With 25 tournaments across 24 disciplines, EWC 2025 brought together more than 2,000 players representing around 200 clubs from over 100 countries. In Riyadh, EWC and the accompanying festival welcomed over 3 million visitors throughout the 7-week event.
For more information about EWC, please visit esportsworldcup.com and follow the Esports World Cup Foundation on LinkedIn.
About the Esports World Cup (EWC)
The Esports World Cup (EWC) is the premier annual sports event and a global festival that celebrates competitive excellence and the esports fan community. The tournament features a unique multidisciplinary competition format, bringing together the world’s top esports clubs to compete for the largest prize pool in esports history. Returning to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2026, EWC will once again connect the global gaming and esports communities to find the next Esports World Cup Club Champion.