Virat Kohli hailed hockey team’s fitness. The World Cup told a different story

Chinese organisation AG.AL triumphed over Team Falcons, ending the latter's two-year grip on the Esports World Cup Club Championship, securing the 2026 title in Paris with a resounding 5,300 points. Team Falcons, the defending champions from Saudi Arabia, claimed second place with 4,600 points, followed by Team Vitality, Natus Vincere, and Team Liquid, who amassed 3,300, 2,950, and 2,700 points respectively.

AG.AL's victory was secured through a cross-game campaign that included first place finishes in TEKKEN 8, second place finishes in Chess, Free Fire, and the Honor of Kings World Cup, as well as a third place finish in Teamfight Tactics. The championship title was decided during the final weekend when AG.AL's player Gwendal Gwen Duparc emerged victorious in the inaugural Trackmania tournament.

Prior to this, Team Falcons had led the Trackmania playoffs, but the exit of Carl-Antoni Carl Jr. Cloutier in the quarterfinals allowed AG.AL to clinch the victory. Indian teams made their most significant appearance at the EWC 2026 in Paris, with three Indian teams qualifying for the inaugural Free Fire tournament for the first time.

However, the campaign yielded mixed results, with Indian teams securing 12th, 11th, 13th, and 15th places in their respective games. Despite these results, the EWC 2026 event set new records with a prize pool of $75 million, featuring over 2,000 players representing 200 clubs from over 100 countries across 25 tournaments in 24 games.

The event attracted an impressive 850 million viewers and generated 440 million hours watched, with peak viewership of 4.3 million during the League of Legends tournament. The Esports World Cup will return to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2027.