The organizers announced that the Esports World Cup 2026 Grand Final will take place on August 23 at the Accor Arena in Paris, the same venue that hosted the playoffs of the 2023 Paris Major.
The tournament, which is usually held in Riyadh, was moved to Paris in May due to the escalating military situation in Iran. Initially, the EWC’s decisive matches were scheduled to take place at the Expo Porte de Versailles exhibition center; however, after tickets for the grand final sold out, the organizers decided to move it to a larger arena.
The rest of the competition will take place at Paris’s Expo Porte de Versailles. That is where the teams will play the bulk of the tournament before moving to the Accor Arena on the final day—the venue where Vitality secured one of its first major triumphs in 2023.
Thirty-two CS2 teams are competing in the tournament, which has a $2 million prize pool. Four of them secured their spots through a large-scale open LAN qualifier. Following the group stage, 16 teams advanced to the playoffs, and the winner will be determined in the grand final on August 23.
Meanwhile, the battle for first place in the overall Esports World Cup standings continues. After four weeks of competition, NAVI leads the club rankings with 2,250 points. Based on the EWC results, the leader of the standings will receive $7 million in prize money.
Vitality currently holds third place, while Falcons are in sixth. NAVI still has a chance to earn additional points, as the club will continue to compete in four disciplines at the Esports World Cup: chess, Crossfire, Trackmania, and Counter-Strike 2.