Chinese esports organisation AG.AL has claimed the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 Club Championship in Paris, France, taking the $7 million first-place prize from a record-breaking $75 million total pool.
The organisation secured the title with 5,300 overall points following a victory by French player Gwendal “Gwen” Duparc in the inaugural Trackmania tournament. By winning the final, Gwen pushed AG.AL past Team Falcons (4,600 points), followed in the standings by Team Vitality (3,300 points), Natus Vincere (2,950 points), and Team Liquid (2,700 points).
Eddy Chen, COO at AG.AL, credited the win to the breadth of the Club’s roster across titles. “When we began expanding AG.AL globally in 2024, the same year the Esports World Cup launched, we set out to build a Club capable of succeeding across games, regions and cultures,” Chen said, thanking AG.AL Chairman Layne Le for backing the project.
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From a commercial and operational standpoint, EWC Paris 2026 established record benchmarks for the event, according to data shared by the Esports Foundation: Total viewership reached 850 million (+13% year-on-year) with 440 million hours watched (+26% YoY) distributed across 100 broadcast partners in 47 languages and 5,000 co-streamers. Peak concurrent viewership reached 4.3 million during the League of Legends tournament.
Competition ticket sales rose to 175,000 (+94% YoY), culminating in the Counter-Strike 2 finals expanding to the 20,000-seat Accor Arena. Cumulative visits across venues, Fan Fests, and city activations exceeded 2 million. Additionally, more than 1.5 million players participated in 330 “Road to EWC” qualifier events worldwide.
“Bringing the EWC to a global audience beyond Saudi Arabia marks an important milestone in its journey and reflects the growing recognition of esports as a global industry,” said HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan al Saud, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Esports Foundation.
Concluded on August 23, 2026, the seven-week event marked the first time the multi-discipline competition was hosted outside Saudi Arabia, featuring more than 2,000 players representing 200 clubs across 25 tournaments in 24 titles. Following its landmark international debut in Paris, the Esports World Cup is set to return to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for its 2027 edition.
