The Esports World Cup has wrapped up in Paris on Sunday after a thrilling seven weeks of competition, marking a tournament that was unexpectedly relocated from Saudi Arabia due to ongoing regional conflicts and travel disruptions. French player Gwendal “Gwen” Duparc entered the Trackmania final with the pressure of needing to finish third or better to clinch the overall Club Championship for the China-based AG.AL. But in a stunning twist, he emerged victorious, securing a whopping $130,000 (€111,500) and helping his team claim the $7 million (€6 million) Club Championship prize, all while denying Saudi Arabia’s Team Falcons a third consecutive title. Can you believe it? French President Emmanuel Macron presented the trophy at the closing ceremony, which was also graced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Talk about a high-profile event!
Over 2,000 players from 200 clubs across more than 100 countries battled it out in 25 tournaments featuring 24 different games. It was a real spectacle! Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, chairman of the Esports Foundation’s executive committee, emphasized that cancelling the tournament was never a serious consideration. “Cancelling was never really on the table,” he said, adding that the real concern was not safety in Saudi Arabia, but the logistical nightmare of bringing thousands of players, staff, and gaming executives to the country amid the disruption. “It would have been irresponsible to do something that would affect their ability to come in, whether it be visas or flight cancellations,” he explained.
The relocation to Paris provided an unexpected home advantage for French teams. “We were planning to be in Riyadh for this year as well, and all of a sudden news came out that everything was moving to Paris,” said Team Vitality’s chief international officer Danny Engels. Talk about a last-minute change! Vitality’s women’s Mobile Legends team also made headlines by successfully defending their title in the only all-women’s tournament at this year’s World Cup. “It was very emotional for all of us,” Engels remarked. “Seeing the girls win again, back to back, is not an easy thing to do.”
The final stages of the competition produced some memorable moments. In the Fortnite Reload Championship finale, 19-year-old Taylor-Petrik “vic0” Gatschelhofer and his 20-year-old teammate Danila “Malibuca” Iakovenko made history by winning back-to-back major in-person tournaments, taking home $260,000. They staged a thrilling comeback in the final game! Vic0 shared with Euronews that he plans to invest most of his prize money, but he might treat his mother to something special. “Maybe I’m gonna get her a new car. We’ll see,” he said, and honestly, how sweet is that?
Meanwhile, the Chinese team BaiSha Gaming added another trophy to their collection by winning the CrossFire title. After suffering defeat in the 2025 Esports World Cup final, BaiSha came back to triumph over defending champions AG.AL before sweeping Team Liquid 3-0 in the final match. Zheng “Xxiao” Qi expressed his joy, saying the victory completed what he calls his own “Grand Slam.” “All the efforts that I’ve put in throughout all the years have paid off,” he declared.
Organizers reported that a staggering 175,000 tickets were sold for esports competitions over the seven weeks, marking a 94% increase from 2025. Mike McCabe, CEO of the Esports Foundation, highlighted the challenges involved in moving thousands of players and staff to Paris on a tight schedule, requiring close cooperation with clubs, game publishers, and French authorities. The experience also allowed organizers to experiment with different ways of running the event, including multiple stages operating simultaneously. “We’re going to take a lot of these learnings back to Riyadh and to the future events that we do,” McCabe said, with a sense of optimism for what lies ahead.
Prince Faisal stated that Paris demonstrated the competition’s ability to expand beyond Saudi Arabia. “This is a real showcase that this event has gone from a Saudi event to really a global event,” he said, adding that it proves the event can adapt and move. For now, though, the World Cup is headed home, with plans to return to Riyadh in 2027. Additionally, the inaugural Esports Nations Cup, initially set for the Saudi capital this November, has been postponed until next year. What a whirlwind of events! Will the next edition live up to the excitement? Only time will tell…
Kaynak: Orijinal Haber
