The Esports World Cup brings its League of Legends tournament to Paris this July. Sixteen teams, four groups, a $2,000,000 prize pool and a spot at EWC 2027 for the winner — here is everything you need to know before the first Bo1 of the group stage.

When and where is EWC 2026 LoL?

The Esports World Cup 2026 takes place in Paris after organisers relocated the event from Riyadh, a decision announced less than 50 days before the opening match. The festival as a whole runs from 6 July to 23 August at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, spanning 25 tournaments across 24 games with a total prize pool exceeding $75 million.

parc des expos
Photo Credit: Esports World Cup

The League of Legends tournament occupies Week 2 of the festival. It runs from 15 to 19 July — five days from the first group stage Bo1 to the grand final. The tournament is not part of Riot Games' official competitive circuit, despite the partnership between the developer and the Esports World Cup.

Prize pool

The 16 teams compete for a total prize pool of $2 million. The champions take home $600,000 and 1,000 Club Championship points, with $340,000 for the runners-up and $220,000 for third place. Fourth place earns $140,000, and teams eliminated in the quarterfinals leave with $90,000 each. Every placement also feeds points into the EWC Club Championship.

The groups

The draw took place on 1 July, following a four-pool seeding system with regional league champions in Pool 1 and no two teams from the same region in one group.

ewc groups

How did the teams qualify?

Six league champions secured direct berths: Hanwha Life Esports (LCK Road to MSI), Bilibili Gaming (LPL Split 2), G2 Esports (LEC Spring), Team Secret (LCP Split 2), LYON (LCS Spring) and FURIA (CBLOL Split 1). The remaining ten spots were filled as follows:

Day one schedule (15 July)

The opening day features the first two matches of every group, all in Bo1, starting at 11:00 CEST with Gen.G vs Karmine Corp — the defending champions against the home crowd's team.

planning ewc

Winners', losers' and elimination matches follow across the group stage, before the bracket concludes with the grand final on 19 July.

The Playoff bracket

Eight teams emerge from the group stage — the winner and runner-up of each group — and enter a single-elimination bracket starting at the quarterfinals. Every series is a Bo3, except the grand final, played in Bo5. The format leaves no safety net. There is no lower bracket at this stage: one lost series ends the tournament. For teams used to the double-elimination structures of MSI or the EWC group stage itself, the margin for error disappears the moment the quarterfinals begin.

Group results will shape the draw. Group winners are expected to face runners-up from another group in the quarterfinals, meaning first place in a group carries real weight — it is the difference between opening the bracket against a second seed or another group winner.

Where to watch

The tournament will be broadcast on the official EWC Twitch channel, alongside a range of co-streamers covering the event in multiple languages — a format that has become central to the EWC's audience, particularly in France.

RFT.GG will be on site in Paris for the full five days, covering the tournament from start to finish — match recaps, player and staff interviews, features and daily content across the site and our social channels.