AG.AL won the Esports World Cup 2026 Club Championship on August 22 after Gwendal ‘Gwen’ Duparc claimed the Trackmania Grand Final in Paris. AG.AL International finished the seven-week race with 5,300 points, passing Team Falcons and earning the competition’s $7 million first prize from a total Club Championship purse of $30 million. Gwen also won the inaugural EWC Trackmania championship and collected a $130,000 individual prize.
🏆 WORLD CHAMPION: @gwentm4!
👑 he didn't just win it. he DEMOLISHED it.#Trackmania #EWC26 pic.twitter.com/kcZblvEzBQ
— Trackmania Esports 2026 (@TMesports) August 22, 2026
After seven weeks of competition, the title came down to AG.AL and Team Falcons. Falcons had won the Club Championship in 2024 and 2025 and were chasing a third straight title, but Gwen’s performance in the final event gave AG.AL the points it needed to move ahead.
THE WORLD CHAMPIONS. 🌍🏆
We came. We conquered.
Esports World Cup 2026 Champions.#AllGamers | #AGGlobal | #DreamBeforeGlory | #EsportsWorldCup | #EWC26 pic.twitter.com/0IpGJ4wOJQ— All Gamers – AG Global (@AGGlobalEsports) August 23, 2026
Gwen turned a 300-point deficit into the championship
The race tightened after Falcons were eliminated by Legacy in the Esports World Cup playoffs and AG.AL suffered a CrossFire defeat. Fortnite did not change the Club Championship standings in a meaningful way, as neither Falcons’ Peter ‘Peterbot’ Kata and Miguel ‘Pollo’ Moreno nor AG.AL’s Nikolaj ‘Sky’ Helleskov and Adrian ‘Scroll’ Richelieu reached the top eight of the Match Point Finals.
Team Falcons led AG.AL by 4,600 points to 4,300 heading into Trackmania. The entire championship rested on Gwen and Falcons’ Carl-Antoni ‘Carl Jr.’ Cloutier, a seven-time Trackmania World Champion who both entered the Trackmania quarter-finals.
That concludes our Fortnite EWC run. We appreciate the support throughout
نهاية مشوارنا في كأس العالم للرياضات الإلكترونية للعبة فورت نايت، شكرًا لدعمكم 💚#FalconsAreHere – #EWC26 pic.twitter.com/wfV2PCEhq4
— Falcons Esports (@FalconsEsport) August 22, 2026
Gwen immediately gave AG.AL a much-needed boost, finishing first in his quarter-final lobby and guaranteeing a place in the semifinals. Carl Jr.’s group was far less forgiving, with Aleksander ‘neon’ Pogroszewski, Vitality’s Thomas ‘Pac’ Cole, and Liquid’s Youen ‘Otaaaq’ Egler all fighting for the available spots. Pac and Otaaaq advanced, ending Falcons’ final path to more Club Championship points.
Our EWC Trackmania run comes to an end in the Quarterfinals. Thank you, Carl Jr
انتهى مشوار صقرنا @CarlJrtm في @EWC_AR
للعبة تراكمانيا من دور ربع النهائي.— شكرًا لدعمكم، والقادم أفضل بإذن الله 💚#EWC26 pic.twitter.com/KxkFDGVMGu
— Falcons Esports (@FalconsEsport) August 22, 2026
Falcons still had the lead after the quarter-finals, but the margin had fallen to 200 points and no other Falcons roster remained in position to add to the total. Gwen needed at least 400 points to put AG.AL ahead, with a top-three finish enough to complete the comeback. Winning the tournament instead gave him the full 1,000 points available to the champion.
Gwen’s comeback put the championship in AG.AL’s hands
An early deficit in the semifinal threatened to complicate that plan. Gwen responded with a comeback and finished first in the lobby, reaching the Grand Final alongside NAVI’s Hubert ‘mime’ Dziedzic, Pac, and Liquid’s Robert ‘Epos’ McKay.
AG.AL and Team Falcons were level on points by the time the final began. A third-place finish or better would be enough for Gwen to win the Club Championship.
He never left the result to chance. Gwen built a commanding lead, reached match point before the other finalists were close to the threshold, and closed out the competition on Japan. The win made him AG.AL’s deciding player in front of the Paris crowd, stopped Team Falcons from claiming another championship, and delivered Gwen’s $130,000 individual prize.
AG.AL’s climb came from more than one game
AG.AL had not finished in the top six at the 2024 EWC and placed sixth in 2025 before completing its rise with the 2026 title. Chairman Le Kedeng used the moment after the final to ask the crowd who the best team in the world was.
The championship also reflected results across a wide group of titles rather than one overwhelming run in a single game. AG.AL chief operating officer Eddy Chen pointed to M. Zubair’s breakthrough in TEKKEN 8, strong finishes in several other games, and Gwen’s final Trackmania win as examples of the club’s broader performance.
AG.AL takes the $7 million prize
The Club Championship title was decided at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, which hosted the Esports World Cup action up to that point. Counter-Strike 2 was a separate 32-team tournament with its own $2 million purse. Its semifinals were held on August 22 before the Paris final on August 23 at the Accor Arena, keeping that bracket separate from the Club Championship race.
Team Spirit defeated FUT Esports 3-1 in the Counter-Strike 2 final, adding 1,000 Club Championship points and moving from 1,200 to 2,200. Spirit finished level with Virtus.pro, and its route to the title included a semifinal win over Legacy.
AG.AL, Team Falcons, and Team Spirit each won two individual competitions, the most of any club. AG.AL’s championship run included victories in Tekken 8 and Trackmania, Falcons won Rocket League and Street Fighter 6, and Spirit took the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Mid Season Cup and Counter-Strike 2.
Esports World Cup 2026 Club Championship standings
The Club Championship paid the top 24 positions. When clubs tied outside first place, the prize money assigned to all occupied positions was combined and divided evenly among the tied organizations.
| Rank | Club | Points | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AG.AL International | 5,300 | $7,000,000 |
| 2 | Team Falcons | 4,600 | $5,000,000 |
| 3 | Team Vitality | 3,300 | $4,000,000 |
| 4 | Natus Vincere | 2,950 | $3,000,000 |
| 5 | Team Liquid | 2,700 | $2,000,000 |
| 6-7 | Team Spirit | 2,200 | $1,275,000 |
| 6-7 | Virtus.pro | 2,200 | $1,275,000 |
| 8 | Aurora Gaming | 2,150 | $950,000 |
| 9 | Twisted Minds | 1,900 | $800,000 |
| 10 | T1 | 1,800 | $650,000 |
| 11 | Team Vision | 1,750 | $550,000 |
| 12-13 | 100 Thieves | 1,500 | $475,000 |
| 12-13 | ZETA DIVISION | 1,500 | $475,000 |
| 14 | Nongshim RedForce | 1,250 | $400,000 |
| 15-17 | G2 Esports | 1,200 | $308,333.33 |
| 15-17 | FaZe Clan | 1,200 | $308,333.33 |
| 15-17 | BIG | 1,200 | $308,333.33 |
| 18 | Weibo Gaming | 1,100 | $250,000 |
| 19-20 | Karmine Corp | 1,050 | $212,500 |
| 19-20 | FURIA | 1,050 | $212,500 |
| 21 | REJECT | 1,000 | $175,000 |
| 22-24 | Team Heretics | 950 | $125,000 |
| 22-24 | DRX | 950 | $125,000 |
| 22-24 | Spacestation Gaming | 950 | $125,000 |
G2 Esports, FaZe Clan, and BIG split the combined money assigned to 15th through 17th, producing a $308,333.33 payout for each club. Karmine Corp and FURIA shared the 19th-20th payout, while Team Heretics, DRX, and Spacestation Gaming divided the money assigned to 22nd through 24th.
All 25 EWC 2026 competitions and their top three
The 2026 program featured 25 Club Championship competitions across 24 games, with Mobile Legends: Bang Bang represented by both its Mid Season Cup and Women’s Invitational. Champions generally received 1,000 points, followed by 750 for second place and 500 for third.
| Game | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| VALORANT | 100 Thieves | NRG | Nongshim RedForce |
| Apex Legends | UNLIMIT | Team Vision | Sentinels |
| FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves | Natus Vincere (DarkAngel) | Virtus.pro (mi2ha4) | Saishunkan Sol Kumamoto (Nemo) |
| Dota 2 | PARIVISION | BetBoom Team | Team Yandex |
| MLBB Women’s Invitational | Team Vitality | Natus Vincere | Geltek Cyber Team |
| Free Fire | LYON | AG.AL International | LOUD |
| League of Legends | Dplus Kia | Karmine Corp | Gen.G Esports |
| Teamfight Tactics | Team Vision | Aurora Gaming | AG.AL International |
| PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS | Virtus.pro | The Vicious | Natus Vincere |
| EA SPORTS FC 26 | HYPERSPIRIT (RvPLegend10) | RBLZ Gaming (levyfinn) | Manchester City (Bonanno) |
| Mobile Legends: Bang Bang MSC | Team Spirit | Yangon Galacticos | ONIC |
| Street Fighter 6 | Team Falcons (Craime) | SBI e-Sports (Hibiki) | REJECT (Hinao) |
| Overwatch 2 | ZETA DIVISION | Twisted Minds | T1 |
| Call of Duty: Warzone | G2 Esports | T1 | JD Gaming |
| Honor of Kings | Kuaishou Gaming | AG.AL International | Geekay Esports |
| Rainbow Six Siege X | FaZe Clan | FURIA | DarkZero |
| Tekken 8 | AG.AL International (M. Zubair) | KIWOOM DRX (LowHigh) | Yagami |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 | OpTic Gaming | Team Heretics | 100 Thieves |
| PUBG Mobile | S2G Esports | Nongshim RedForce | Aurora Gaming |
| Chess | Team Liquid (Magnus Carlsen) | AG.AL International (Denis Lazavik) | Team Falcons (Hikaru Nakamura) |
| Rocket League | Team Falcons | Spacestation Gaming | Ninjas in Pyjamas eStar |
| Counter-Strike 2 | Team Spirit | FUT Esports | Legacy |
| CROSSFIRE | BaiSha Gaming | Team Liquid | KINGZONE-eSports |
| Fortnite | BIG | RVNS SkyJump + LYOST Momsy | Aurora Gaming |
| Trackmania | AG.AL International (Gwen) | Team Liquid (Epos) | Team Vitality (Pac) |
Paris hosted the largest EWC edition yet
The 2026 Esports World Cup was the first edition held outside Saudi Arabia, with Paris replacing Riyadh as the host city. Official EWC coverage recorded the following overall figures:
- 850 million total viewers, up 13 percent year over year
- 440 million hours of cumulative watch time, up 26 percent
- 175,000 tickets sold, a 94 percent increase from 2025
- More than 2 million visits to the venue and Fan Fest across seven weeks
- A $75 million total prize pool spanning 25 tournaments and 24 game titles
- More than 2,000 players representing over 200 clubs from more than 100 countries
- Broadcasts in 47 languages across more than 100 TV and OTT platforms
League of Legends produced the event’s highest peak audience at 4.3 million concurrent viewers. Elsewhere, Chilean player Jaime ‘Craime’ Bustos became the youngest EWC champion at 15 after defeating two former champions, while Samy ‘dralii’ Hajji became the first three-time EWC champion in Rocket League.
Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan al Saud, chairman of the Esports Foundation’s Executive Committee, pointed to the attendance of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and French President Emmanuel Macron as evidence of esports’ growing international reach.
The 2026 Esports World Cup was held in Paris after the event moved away from Riyadh. A 2027 edition is planned, with Riyadh intended to return as host, although dates have not been announced.
AG.AL’s championship run came down to one final Trackmania bracket, and Gwen delivered when the club needed him most. Share your thoughts on the result in the comments, and follow along on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram for more esports coverage.
