Esports World Cup 2026 may be moved to Paris

Esports World Cup 2026 MAY BE MOVED FROM SAUDI ARABIA TO PARIS

The organizers of the multimillion-dollar Esports World Cup 2026 festival with a $75 million budget are considering moving the tournament from Riyadh. The reason is the unstable situation in the Middle East — the conflict in Iran and growing risks for the region.

According to GamesBeat journalist Alexander Lee, citing his sources — three industry insiders familiar with the internal discussions — the 2026 tournament will be hosted by Paris. The head of Esports World Cup Foundation, Ralf Reichert, previously hoped to keep the venue in Riyadh. But uncertainty in the Middle East forced the organizers to change course. The festival starts on July 6 and will run for seven weeks, covering 24 disciplines and awarding $75 million. The Counter-Strike tournament will be held in the last two weeks, from August 12 to 23. It will feature 32 teams — twice as many as in 2025. The prize pool will increase to $2 million, which is $750,000 more than last year.

Originally, four slots were planned to be awarded through a LAN qualifier for 128 teams, but the relocation may affect the qualification format. 21 slots will be distributed by the global VRS, while the regions of North and South America, as well as Asia, will each receive two more. The last spot will go to the winner of the Asian Champions League 2026 in Shanghai.

According to Valve’s rules, organizers need special permission to change the location or format of a tournament. The file with such exceptions was last updated seven months ago.