Following the massive announcement of the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) shifting its host city from Riyadh to Paris, the Esports Foundation has officially locked in the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles as the host venue.
Alongside the venue confirmation, the foundation also shared the official worldwide ticket launch date to be May 29.
This hasty relocation to the French capital was made mainly because the Esports Foundation was concerned about the intense regional instability and military conflicts in the Middle East. To not compromise the security of their players as well as the visiting live audience, the Foundation cooperated directly with French President Emmanuel Macron to shift the massive event to the new city.
Although the event is moved to Paris this year, Riyadh will still remain the primary funder of the long-term home for the upcoming iterations of the show.
By selecting the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, organizers are leaning heavily on a venue that already has a history in hosting esports events. The massive complex has successfully served as the home of Paris Games Week since 2010, hosted the Teamfight Tactics (TFT) Open in 2025, and operated as the single largest indoor venue footprint during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The existing, state-of-the-art event infrastructure of the venue provides the exact plug-and-play capability necessary to run this complex show and simultaneous broadcast operations for 25 different competitive tournaments.
Over 2,000 elite professional players representing more than 200 premier global clubs and 100 countries will come to Paris to battle for a record-shattering $75 million total prize pool.
The tournament follows the industry-leading cross-game Club Championship format, aggregating competitive placements across various flagship titles, including Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, VALORANT, Dota 2, and Rocket League, to crown the best global esports organization.
The seven-week schedule of the event splits the flagship finals to maximize audience engagement. Week 1 kicks off with VALORANT and the Apex Legends (ALGS) Split 1 Playoffs, followed by League of Legends in Week 2, Rainbow Six Siege in Week 6, and a massive Counter-Strike 2 grand finale concluding the festival during Week 7.
Featured image credit: Esports Foundation
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