EMEA Qualifier bracket for the Esports World Cup 2026 takes shape

The bracket for the Esports World Cup has been officially unveiled, and it features a unique format this year. Unlike the previous two editions, no teams have been granted direct invitations. Instead, every region around the globe has organized its own qualification tournaments. In EMEA, this means all ten LEC organizations—along with the two finalists from the EMEA Masters Winter 2026—will compete in a regional bracket that will determine which two European representatives will earn the right to face the world’s best in Riyadh from July 15 to July 19.

As a reminder, this qualifying phase will be played online and will take place from April 28 to 30 and then from May 14 to 17, running concurrently with the LEC Spring Split. This also includes travel for several teams during the various roadshows.

The top four teams from LEC Versus, namely , , , and , receive a direct bye to Round 2 of the bracket. The first round kicks off with the following matchups:

With the EMEA Masters Grand Finals scheduled for April 21, we’ll soon know exactly which seeds will be occupied by and . All matches in this stage will be best-of-three (BO3) series, except for the decisive qualification matches, which will be played in best-of-five (BO5) format to determine the teams that advance to the global stage.