Champion of the
VALORANT tournament at the 2025
Esports World Cup, Team Heretics will return in 2026 to defend its title thanks to its victory last year, a rule applied across every EWC title. The event, set to take place from July 6 to August 23, will feature nearly 25 tournaments across 24 different games, including staples such as
League of Legends, Counter-Strike and Honor of Kings, alongside Riot Games’ FPS title, whose competition will run from July 2 to 12.
Regarding participants,
EMEA, Americas and Pacific will each send four representatives, while VCT China will only have three slots available. A surprising difference, which, therefore, leaves room for Heretics on the final spot as the reigning 2025 champion.
The 16 participating teams will head to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where they will be split into four groups of four teams, with only the top two advancing to the playoffs. Just like the group stage, the playoffs will be played in Best-of-3 in a single-elimination bracket until the grand final, which will be played as a Bo5. Unlike many other tournaments, a third-place match will also be played between the losing semifinalists. This choice is tied to the
EWC Club Championship system, which rewards the most successful organizations across all competitions through a points-based ranking system, making the difference between finishing third or just outside the podium especially important.
As for qualification, TH had already secured its place at the 2026 edition following its victory in 2025. As a result, the Spanish organization also granted Team Vitality, runner-up of VCT EMEA Stage 1 against Heretics, direct qualification for the tournament, as the winner of each Stage 1 across the four
VALORANT Champions Tour regions earns a slot for the
EWC. The remaining places, between two and three depending on the region, will once again be decided through dedicated qualifiers, just like in 2025.
