Gaming
Esports World Cup crowns first champions as title race gathers pace
Three champions crowned as Team Vitality tops Club standings with 400 points after Week 1
MUMBAI: Game on, trophies out. The opening week of the Esports World Cup 2026 wasted no time separating contenders from champions, serving up dramatic comebacks, emotional victories and a leaderboard already beginning to take shape.
After seven action-packed days in Paris, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Apex Legends and VALORANT crowned their first champions, while the battle for the prestigious Club Championship gathered momentum.
The first trophy of EWC 2026 went to Luis Guadalupe “DarkAngel” Castillo Gomez of NAVI, who finally claimed his maiden major Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves title after years of near misses. Having finished third at last year’s Esports World Cup behind former champions GO1 and Xiao Hai, DarkAngel capitalised on an open draw after GO1 withdrew due to health reasons and Xiao Hai exited before the top 16.
DarkAngel defeated Virtus.Pro’s Kenta “mi2ha4” Ichihara 4-1 in the grand final to become the first player to have his name engraved on the EWC Totem, officially launching the championship race.
The biggest twist of the week, however, arrived in Apex Legends.
Japanese squad UNLIMIT, comprising Yulariman, Xtsuvi and Peace, staged one of the tournament’s most remarkable comebacks during the ALGS Year 6 Split 1 Playoffs. After failing to finish higher than ninth in any of the opening six matches, the team looked destined to miss out before producing an extraordinary late surge, winning three of the final four games to force the competition into a decisive tenth match.
With both UNLIMIT and ZETA DIVISION on match point, the final game became a winner-takes-all showdown. Peace secured the decisive eliminations to hand UNLIMIT an unlikely championship and emotional celebrations.
His performance earned him the Sony MVP Award, finishing the tournament with 39 eliminations, 35 assists and 50 knockouts.
Closing out the opening week, 100 Thieves delivered a flawless run to capture the VALORANT title, defeating reigning world champions NRG 3-1 in an all-American grand final sealed in overtime.
The victory marked 100 Thieves’ first international VALORANT trophy and ended a five-year wait for veteran Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk, who has remained with the organisation since joining as a teenager.
The North American side completed an unbeaten campaign, overcoming Rex Regum Qeon, BBL Esports, MIBR.LOS and Nongshim RedForce before lifting the trophy.
Teammate Matthew “Cryocells” Panganiban claimed the Sony MVP Award after starring in the final with 65 kills and 25 assists.
While three champions have already emerged, the competition is far from over.
The Dota 2 tournament has moved beyond the group stage, with Team Falcons, PVISION and Team Yandex topping their respective groups, while Nigma Galaxy produced one of the week’s biggest surprises by securing a playoff berth despite an inconsistent 2025-26 season.
The opening week has also begun shaping the Club Championship, where organisations must finish inside the top eight in at least two tournaments to qualify for the standings.
At present, Team Vitality is the only club to have met that requirement, sitting atop the leaderboard with 400 points after top-five finishes in both VALORANT and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
However, with several marquee titles still to come, clubs such as NAVI and 100 Thieves remain well placed to climb the standings as Week 2 of the Esports World Cup gets underway.
