VALORANT kicked off the
Esports World Cup 2026, marking the tournament's first edition in Paris after being traditionally held in Riyadh. As an added bonus, and to the delight of French fans, all three French clubs competing in VCT EMEA, Team Vitality, Karmine Corp, and Gentle Mates, had qualified for the event. However, all three have now been eliminated before reaching the semifinals.
KCorp, Vitality and M8 in Paris
As the reigning 2025 champions, Team Heretics received a direct invitation to EWC 2026, leaving four additional spots available for the EMEA region. Team Vitality secured a direct berth after finishing runner-up in Stage 1, while Karmine Corp and Gentle Mates topped the regional qualifier. BBL Esports claimed the final available slot.
As a result, EMEA was heavily represented, with the draw placing Team Vitality and Karmine Corp together in Group B alongside Paper Rex, runners-up at Masters London, and NRG, champions of Champions Paris 2025. The two French organizations faced each other in the opening match, where the Bees claimed a 2-0 victory over the Blue Wall. Vitality then followed it up with a 2-1 win over NRG to secure a direct qualification to the playoffs.
Tough quarterfinals
In an elimination match, KCorp stunned Paper Rex to stay alive and set up a Decider rematch against the North American squad. After losing the opening map 13-6, Dmitrii "SUYGETSU" Iliushin helped turn the series around on Fracture to force a third map. In the end, however, Karmine Corp fell short, allowing NRG to advance to the playoffs and bringing its tournament run to an end.
In Group C, Gentle Mates enjoyed a similarly strong group stage to Team Vitality. After defeating XLG Esports 2-1 in its opening match, the French club followed it up against Nongshim RedForce. The surprise champions of Masters Santiago were unable to contain Martin "marteen" Pátek, Patryk "starxo" Kopczynski, and Taranvir "bipo" Singh, eventually falling 2-1 and sending M8 through to the playoffs alongside Vitality.
Placed on opposite sides of the playoff bracket, the two remaining French organizations looked set for a potential grand final meeting, but both were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Facing NRG, Gentle Mates took the lead by winning Haven but failed to close out the series on Ascent and Lotus. Team Vitality suffered the same fate on Friday, July 10. After taking Ascent, the Bees could not contain Nongshim on Split before collapsing on Breeze, managing only two rounds as the South Korean side secured its place in the semifinals.
