VALORANT groups revealed for Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris

The Esports Foundation, organizer of the Esports World Cup, unveiled the four groups for the VALORANT tournament on Friday, June 26. The event will take place in Paris from July 2 to 12. A total of 16 teams from the four International Leagues will compete across ten days for nearly $2 million in prize money and, more importantly, valuable Club Points that could help their respective organizations secure the overall Club Championship title at the end of the event.

Originally scheduled to run from July 7 to August 23, the Esports World Cup will be held outside of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the first time due to tensions between Iran and the United States in the region. As with VALORANT and the other 24 competitions taking place in Paris, participating organizations will earn Club Points based on their final placement, contributing toward a $30 million Club Championship prize pool, including $7 million for the winning club. Team Falcons, who are not competing in VALORANT, are the defending champions after winning the last two editions.

Among the four groups, Group B stands out as the toughest on paper. It features Paper Rex, one of the most consistent and successful teams in competitive VALORANT and runners-up at Masters London, reigning world champions NRG, and two French organizations. All three French representatives from VCT EMEA qualified for the EWC, with Karmine Corp joining Team Vitality, who recently secured a Top 4 finish at Masters London and finished second in Stage 1 EMEA. Despite struggling since the start of the season, Marshall "N4RRATE" Massey's Karmine Corp have an opportunity to make a statement by advancing from the group stage and building momentum.

The tournament will begin with the Group Stage, running from July 2 to 7. The 16 teams will be split into four GSL-style double-elimination groups of four teams each. Every match will be played as a Bo3, with teams needing two series wins to qualify for the playoffs, while two losses will result in elimination. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next stage.

The playoffs will take place from July 9 to 12 in a single-elimination bracket. All matches will be played as Bo3s, except for the Grand Final, which will be contested as a best-of-five (Bo5).

The tournament will open with two Group A matches, as EDward Gaming take on BBL Esports while Rex Regum Qeon face 100 Thieves.