Sixteen teams will compete for a $2 million prize pool at the Paris Expo from July 15-19 as the event relocates from Riyadh
The Esports World Cup has locked in its seeding for the League of Legends portion of this summer’s massive multi-game tournament, now set to take place at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from July 15 to July 19. Sixteen teams, including defending champion Gen.G, will battle for a $2 million prize pool.
The League of Legends competition is one piece of a much larger puzzle. The full Esports World Cup runs from July 6 through August 23, spanning multiple game titles and carrying a combined prize pool of $75 million.
Who’s in, and how it works
Gen.G, which won the 2025 edition, locked its seed on May 31. Two of the LCK’s heaviest hitters, Hanwha Life Esports and T1, followed on June 12. The remaining slots were filled through qualification processes completed by June 2026, with most team positions confirmed by late May.
The format is designed to reward consistency while keeping things dramatic. Sixteen teams will be divided into four GSL-style groups, meaning double-elimination brackets where you need two losses to go home. Survivors advance to single-elimination playoffs, culminating in best-of-three and best-of-five series in the finals.
The tournament winner also locks in an automatic qualification spot for the Esports World Cup 2027.
From Riyadh to Paris
The Esports World Cup was previously held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the Esports Foundation (formerly the Esports World Cup Foundation) built the event into one of competitive gaming’s premier showcases. This year, geopolitical tensions in the region forced a relocation to Paris.
Venue confirmation and ticket sales were announced in early June, giving fans a relatively tight window to plan travel.
The Esports Foundation is running the show alongside ESL FACEIT Group, the industry’s dominant tournament operator. ESL FACEIT has organized everything from Counter-Strike majors to Dota 2 championships.
What the competitive landscape looks like
Gen.G entering as defending champion immediately shapes the narrative. Hanwha Life Esports represents another tier of Korean dominance, bringing LCK championship pedigree. T1, home to multiple World Championship titles, adds star power and historical weight to the bracket.
For investors and stakeholders in the esports ecosystem, the $75 million total prize pool across all titles represents a significant commitment from the Esports Foundation. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative poured billions into entertainment and esports infrastructure, and the EWC was supposed to be a crown jewel of that investment. Moving the event shifts the economic benefits and sponsorship dynamics considerably, and the funding model could look very different without Riyadh’s deep pockets anchoring the budget.
