AG.AL International look to take EWC 2026 Club Championship title from Team Falcons

While Team Falcons could count on a 67.47% chance of winning the Esports World Cup 2026 Club Championship, it is ultimately AG.AL International that may have a chance to claim the title and deny the organization a third consecutive championship. The Chinese club, which was only 300 points behind at the start of the week, can now rely on a major stumble from its main contender, particularly in Counter-Strike, and hope to claim the ultimate title at the end of this weekend.

Launched at the beginning of last July, the EWC is being held outside Saudi Arabia for the first time, in Paris, and is therefore set to conclude this Sunday, August 23, with the four remaining games, Fortnite, Trackmania, Counter-Strike 2, and Crossfire. While Natus Vincere and Team Vitality are still neck and neck in the race for third place, with 2,650 and 2,800 points, respectively, first place is also still undecided. This Saturday, August 22, and Sunday, August 23, will see the two events in which all four names are still in contention, TM and Fortnite, come to an end, deciding a Top 3 after a dramatic finish.

Calculated across all seven weeks and 25 disciplines played, the Club Championship is the EWC's overall ranking, in which clubs accumulate points based on their results in each game. While the Saudi club was crowned four days before the end of the 2025 edition, the 2026 edition should go down to the very last moment and the final day. It is a scenario that the two names still in contention for first place, Falcons and All Gamers, owe in part to each other.

Across the four games featured during this final week of the Esports World Cup, the Saudi club is competing in all four, while the Chinese organization is only involved in three, being absent from CS2. It is a game in which Falcons had built strong momentum recently, with two finals at the CS Asia Championship and PGL Astana, but most importantly, a first Major title won at IEM Cologne. However, just like Team Vitality, their run was cut short in the quarterfinals in Paris, with only 200 points earned. With those extra points, the French club could have taken a 150-point lead over NAVI, who were eliminated in the round of 16 and therefore left the CS tournament empty-handed, despite holding a 50-point lead after Week 6.

In Crossfire, it was instead All Gamers, the 2025 tournament winners, who missed their chance, also earning only 200 points after a quarterfinal elimination. This effectively cancelled out Falcons' CS result and leaves the two organizations separated by 300 points. Also competing in the FPS, NAVI and Vitality both earned 200 points, allowing them to continue cancelling each other out with a 150-point gap between them.

The Club Championship will therefore be decided on Fortnite and Trackmania. On Nadeo's racing game alone, all four are still in contention, including All Gamers, with its two players Alexandre "Binkss" Touche and Gwendal "Gwen" Duparc, while the other three names each have a single player remaining in these quarterfinals. It is worth noting that 16 players are still competing, and they will need to make it through this round and finish in the top two of their quarterfinal to reach the semifinals and, most importantly, start earning points. Alongside Gwen, the other major favorite is Canadian player Carl-Antoni "Carl Jr." Cloutier, representing Team Falcons and the most decorated player in the history of the game.

On Fortnite, the only member of our quartet missing is NAVI, with the Ukrainian club having no duo competing in the event. Of the 40 rosters taking part in the competition, only half remain in the final, and our three other podium contenders are competing in the grand final, which will be played over two days. It is also worth noting the continued presence across both games of players representing other clubs near the top of the Club Championship standings, such as Twisted Minds, Team Liquid, Aurora Gaming, and T1. Some of them can still overtake Vitality for third place, or at the very least shake up the Top 5 considerably.