EVA (Esports Virtual Arenas), a virtual reality (VR) esports organiser and platform, has announced a major restructuring of its top-tier competitive scene, introducing a permanent European league system headed by an eight-team EVA Pro League and a 16-team EVA Challenger League for the 2026 season.
The new structure, which replaces the organiser’s former French-focused national competitions, is designed to raise the level of play, attract new organisations, and create a more cohesive European ecosystem for its VR esports title. The season will culminate in a new cross-league championship called the EVA Summit.
Local leagues in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, and Romania will be unified into a single European zone to feed the new ecosystem. The best local teams will qualify for regional tournaments, which in turn provide a pathway into the EVA Summit.
The announcement confirms the virtual reality esports organiser’s strategic shift to a pan-European model. The new EVA Pro League will feature permanent slots for eight teams, with no promotion or relegation, guaranteeing stability for partnered organisations. It will run from April to October 2026 with a cash prize of €50,000 (~$58,690 USD).
Alongside it, the EVA Challenger League will serve as a competitive proving ground for 16 teams split into Alpha and Beta conferences, offering a €25,000 (~$29,340 USD) prize pool and a relegation system.
Yassine Jaada, VP Esports at EVA, positioned the move as a significant elevation of the company’s competitive offering. “We aren’t just hosting a tournament. We are launching a fully structured, top-tier European competition,” Jaada stated in a LikedIn post. “This marks the definitive pinnacle of the EVA ecosystem, the ‘Champions League’ of VR. This is the highest level of EVA esports ever seen.”
The top four teams from the Pro League will qualify directly for the Summit playoffs in October. They will be joined by the top four teams from each Challenger League conference, who will enter at the second stage, and qualifiers from the grassroots local leagues. The Summit will have a total prize pool of €30,000 (~$35,210 USD) across its three stages.
A new parallel competition, EVA Versus, will also run, featuring a €30,000 annual prize pool for locations based on inter-league performance. The changes also see the retirement of the standalone French Cup, a move attributed to “a packed calendar” following the European expansion.
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