The “Esports World Cup 2026,” with a total prize pool of 12 billion yen, is set to kick off soon! Week 1 features “Apex Legends,” “Fatal Fury: CotW,” and more.

One of the world’s largest esports tournaments, the “Esports World Cup 2026” (hereinafter “EWC2026”), will kick off on Tuesday, July 6, 2026 (local time) in Paris, France.
The tournament will run for seven weeks until Sunday, August 23, 2026, with 25 tournaments across 24 titles scheduled to take place during that period.
This article provides a summary of the Week 1 schedule.
Please note that all dates and times listed below are in Paris local time (Japan is 7 hours ahead).

"EWC2026" Week 1 / July 6 (Mon) – 12 (Sun), 2026

"EWC2026"公式サイト

• VALORANT
• Apex Legends
• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
• Dota 2
• EA SPORTS FC 26

Week 1 of "EWC2026" runs from Monday, July 6, 2026, through Sunday, July 12, 2026.
The five titles listed above will be played, and champions will be crowned in three of them right away.

In addition, the opening ceremony will be held on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, featuring performances by DJ Snake, Aya Nakamura, and Teodora.

"VALORANT" Overview and Week 1 Schedule

• Team Heretics
• Edward Gaming
• Team Vitality
• Paper Rex
• Xi Lai Gaming
• AG.AL
• G2 Esports
• Gentle Mates
• Team RRQ
• Global Esports
• Karmine Corp
• BBL Esports
• NRG
• 100 Thieves
• NongShim RedForce
• MIBR.LOS

The total prize pool for "VALORANT," a tactical shooter developed and operated by Riot Games, is $2 million (approximately 320 million yen).
The 16 teams listed above are participating in the group stage, which has been underway since Thursday, July 2, 2026.

Monday, July 6

• 1:00 PM–: TBD vs. TBD
• 3:45 PM–: TBD vs. TBD

Tuesday, July 7

• 1:00 PM–: TBD vs. TBD
• 3:45 PM–: TBD vs. TBD

Thursday, July 9

• 1:00 PM–: TBD vs. TBD
• 3:45 PM–: TBD vs. TBD

July 10 (Fri)

• 1:00 PM–: TBD vs. TBD
• 3:45 PM–: TBD vs. TBD

July 11 (Sat)

• 1:00 PM–: TBD vs. TBD
• 3:45 PM–: TBD vs. TBD

July 12 (Sun)

• 1:00 PM–: TBD vs. TBD (3rd-place match)
• 3:45 PM–: TBD vs. TBD (Final)

"Apex Legends" Week 1 Overview & Schedule

• ZETA DIVISION (Group A)
• JD Gaming (Group A)
• ForFun Esports (Group A)
• PXX (Group A)
• Relove Deep Cross Gaming (Group A)
• Gaimin Gladiators (Group A)
• TriniTY (Group A)
• AG.AL (Group A)
• TIE (Group A)
• ZEDI ESPORTS (Group A)
• Wolves Esports (Group B)
• Virtus.Pro (Group B)
• UNLIMIT (Group B)
• Team Falcons (Group B)
• Shopify Rebellion (Group B)
• Dory (Group B)
• Kirisame Havoc (Group B)
• Team Heretics (Group B)
• Gen.G Esports (Group B)
• Flat (Group B)
• Ninjas in Pyjamas eStar (Group C)
• REJECT (Group C)
• VK Gaming (Group C)
• Alliance (Group C)
• Elite Esports (Group C)
• Team RRQ (Group C)
• Sentinels (Group C)
• KINOTROPE Club (Group C)
• Geekay Esports (Group C)
• Team Nemesis (Group C)
• Aurora Gaming (Group D)
• S8UL Esports (Group D)
• Team Vision (Group D)
• ENTER FORCE.36 (Group D)
• WGR NEO (Group D)
• Team Liquid (Group D)
• BOBERS (Group D)
• Dogred (Group D)
• ZiPLine Mafia (Group D)
• DINOS (Group D)

The total prize pool for "Apex Legends," the battle royale shooter developed by Electronic Arts, is $2 million (approximately 320 million yen).
The event will be held as the official tournament, the Apex Legends Global Series: 2026 Split 1 Playoffs (ALGS: 2026 Split 1 Playoffs), with 40 teams participating.

Tuesday, July 7

• 1:00 PM–: Group A + Group B
• 5:35 PM–: Group C + Group D

Wednesday, July 8

• 1:00 PM–: Group A + Group C
• 5:35 PM–: Group B + Group D

Thursday, July 9

• 1:00 PM–: Group A + Group D
• 5:35 PM–: Group B + Group C

Friday, July 10

• 4:00 PM–: Survival

July 11 (Sat)

• 4:00 PM–: Match Point Finals

"Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves" Overview and Week 1 Schedule

• GO1
• Laggia
• DarkAngel
• mi2ha4
• ZJZ
• Dany El Maza
• Basher
• NaiWang
• SHADOW X
• Nemo
• Xiaohai
• POONGKO
• NYChrisG
• TheGio
• Koji KOG
• Fenritti
• H-DOPE
• RB
• Vxbao
• Lancer
• mok
• Reynald
• Kindevu
• Neku
• K-TOP
• SCORE
• Senaru
• AbuOmar
• TBD
• TBD
• TBD
• TBD

The total prize pool for "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves," a competitive fighting game developed by SNK , is $1 million (approximately 160 million yen).
A total of 32 players are scheduled to compete, including EWC 2025 champion GO1 and many other Japanese players.
The remaining four spots will be decided at the EWC Last Chance Qualifier on Sunday, July 5, 2026.

Wednesday, July 8

• 1:00 PM–: Group AA
• 3:50 PM–: Group BB

Thursday, July 9

• 1:00 PM–: Group CC
• 3:50 PM–: Group DD

Friday, July 10

• 1:00 PM–: Group A
• 3:50 PM–: Group B

July 11 (Sat)

• 3:00 PM–: Quarterfinals
• 5:55 PM–: Third-Place Match
• 6:30 PM–: Finals

"Dota 2" Overview and Week 1 Schedule

• Team Spirit
• Vici Gaming
• Week 1
• Aurora Gaming
• Xtreme Gaming
• Team Yandex
• Team Falcons
• Team Liquid
• MOUZ
• PTime
• OG Esports
• Virtus.Pro
• BB Team
• PVISION
• L1 TEAM
• LGD Gaming
• Rune Eaters
• Nigma Galaxy
• Inner Circle x Insanity
• Team Nemesis
• GamerLegion
• Level Up
• REKONIX
• Poor Rangers

The total prize pool for "Dota 2," a MOBA developed and operated by Valve Corporation , is $2 million (approximately 320 million yen)
24 teams will compete over a two-week period.

Tuesday, July 7

• 11:00 a.m. –: Team Falcons vs. BB Team, Poor Rangers vs. GamerLegion, Rune Eaters vs. Xtreme Gaming
• 1:30 PM–: Team Liquid vs. PTime, L1 TEAM vs. Nigma Galaxy, Level Up vs. Aurora Gaming
• 4:00 PM–: Team Spirit vs. MOUZ, REKONIX vs. Vici Gaming, Team Nemesis vs. PVISION
• 6:30 PM–: Team Yandex vs. OG Esports, LGD Gaming vs. Virtus.Pro, Inner Circle x Insanity vs. 1W

Wednesday, July 8

• 11:00 AM–: GamerLegion vs. Xtreme Gaming, Poor Rangers vs. BB Team, Team Falcons vs. Rune Eaters
• 1:30 PM–: Nigma Galaxy vs. Aurora Gaming, L1 TEAM vs. PTime, Team Liquid vs. Level Up
• 4:00 PM–: Vici Gaming vs. PVISION, REKONIX vs. MOUZ, Team Spirit vs. Team Nemesis
• 6:30 PM–: Virtus.Pro vs 1W, LGD Gaming vs OG Esports, Team Yandex vs Inner Circle x Insanity

Thursday, July 9

• 11:00 AM–: GamerLegion vs Team Falcons, Poor Rangers vs Xtreme Gaming, BB Team vs Rune Eaters
• 1:30 PM–: Nigma Galaxy vs Team Liquid, L1 TEAM vs Aurora Gaming, PTime vs Level Up
• 4:00 PM–: Vici Gaming vs. Team Spirit, MOUZ vs. Team Nemesis, REKONIX vs. PVISION
• 6:30 PM–: LGD Gaming vs. 1W, Virtus.Pro vs. Team Yandex, OG Esports vs. Inner Circle x Insanity

Friday, July 10

• 11:00 AM–: Xtreme Gaming vs. BB Team, Poor Rangers vs. Team Falcons, Rune Eaters vs. GamerLegion
• 1:30 PM–: Aurora Gaming vs. PTime, L1 TEAM vs. Team Liquid, Level Up vs. Nigma Galaxy
• 4:00 PM–: PVISION vs. MOUZ, Team Nemesis vs. Vici Gaming, REKONIX vs. Team Spirit
• 6:30 PM–: LGD Gaming vs. Team Yandex, 1W vs. OG Esports, Inner Circle x Insanity vs. Virtus.Pro

Saturday, July 11

• 11:00 AM–: Xtreme Gaming vs. Team Falcons, BB Team vs. GamerLegion, Poor Rangers vs. Rune Eaters
• 1:30 PM–: Aurora Gaming vs Team Liquid, PTime vs Nigma Galaxy, L1 TEAM vs Level Up

July 12 (Sun)

• 11:00 AM–: PVISION vs. Team Spirit, MOUZ vs. Vici Gaming, REKONIX vs. Team Nemesis
• 1:30 PM–: 1W vs Team Yandex, OG Esports vs Virtus.Pro, LGD Gaming vs Inner Circle x Insanity

"EA SPORTS FC 26" Overview and Week 1 Schedule

The soccer game "EA SPORTS FC 26" features a total prize pool of $1.5 million (approximately 240 million yen).
With 26 of the 36 spots already filled, the "Last Chance Qualifier EA SPORTS FC 26" will take place starting Thursday, July 9, 2026, to determine the remaining 10 qualifiers.

July 9 (Thu) – 11 (Sat)

• Final Qualifier

July 12 (Sun)

• Play-In