Esports VALORANT World Cup 2026 Preview

The Esports World Cup 2026, which will feature 24 games, begins with the VALORANT tournament on July 2. EWC will include an S-Tier VALORANT tournament with 16 teams, and the prize pool is $2,000,000. The tournament will take place on July 2 – 12, and the main favorites are Paper Rex, G2 Esports, NRG and Team Vitality.

Here is a closer look at the VALORANT World Cup format, schedule and main favorites.

VALORANT EWC 2026 will take place on July 2 – 12. In total, 16 teams will compete, divided into 4 groups of 4. Two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs, where the competition starts from the quarterfinal stage.

Group-stage matches will be played in the following format:

• Opening Matches
• Winners Match (played by the winners of the first match)
• Elimination Match (played by the losers of the first match)
• Decider Match (played by the loser of the Winners Match and the winner of the Elimination Match)

The EWC VALORANT tournament will take place almost immediately after the recently completed VALORANT Masters London 2026, which was held on June 6 – 21. In the tournament final, Paper Rex lost 2:3 to Leviatan.

The total tournament prize pool is $2,000,000, which is the second-largest prize pool in the 2026 VALORANT season. Masters Santiago and Masters London each had a $1,000,000 prize pool, while VALORANT Champions 2026, which begins on September 24, will have a $2,250,000 prize pool.

The playoffs will follow the usual format, with the quarterfinal winners meeting in the semifinals and the losing teams being eliminated from the esports tournament.

A third-place match will also be played here, and the match will matter not only because of the larger cash prize, but also because of the points awarded to teams for taking part in EWC. During the Esports World Cup, the Club Championship will also take place, where organizations compete against each other for a $30,000,000 prize pool.

All VALORANT teams that will compete at VALORANT World Cup 2026:

• Group A: EDward Gaming, Rex Regum Qeon, 100 Thieves, BBL Esports
• Group B: Paper Rex, Team Vitality, Karmine Corp, NRG
• Group C: G2 Esports, Gentle Mates, XLG Esports, Nongshim RedForce
• Group D: Team Heretics, MiBR LOS, Global Esports, AG.AL International

The lowest odds for VALORANT at Esports World Cup 2026 are given to Paper Rex, which unexpectedly lost the recent VALORANT Masters London 2026. Besides Paper Rex, the following teams also stand out:

• G2 Esports
• NRG Esports
• Team Vitality

Paper Rex is the main favorite in the tournament and arrives in solid form. In the recently held VALORANT Masters London 2026, the team suffered only one defeat. It lost the Grand Final to Leviatan despite leading 2:1.

Leviatan showed excellent play at Masters London and suffered only one defeat. It lost to Paper Rex in the quarterfinals, then won all the remaining matches. This esports team will not be at EWC, which gives Paper Rex even greater chances, as it beat its main rivals in London. It won against both Team Vitality and EDward Gaming.

NRG did not reach the playoffs in the tournament held in London, losing in the group to Leviatan and FUT. At EWC, this team is listed among the favorites, but it will play in Group B, which also includes Paper Rex and Vitality.

Group B includes as many as three tournament favorites, while only two teams will advance to the playoffs. This means that Paper Rex, NRG or Vitality will not compete for the championship title. If NRG was not able to improve its game in just over a week, there is a strong chance the team could also miss the playoffs in this tournament.

Team Vitality suffered two defeats in the tournament held in London. First, it lost to Paper Rex in the Upper Bracket Semifinals, then lost to Leviatan in the Lower Bracket Semifinal. Against other teams, Vitality looked convincing, which suggests that the team has a good chance to fight for a place in the final at this tournament.

Vitality will play in Group B, which means it will need to beat Paper Rex or NRG in order to reach the playoffs. Since these teams will meet in the group, they should not meet again before the final, so there is a strong chance that the EWC final will feature two teams from Group B.

Although Paper Rex, G2 and Team Vitality attract the most attention in the tournament, Nongshim RedForce and Team Heretics should also be highlighted, as they can be considered the dark horses of this tournament.

This season, NS RedForce won VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026, where it did not suffer a single defeat in the playoffs. It beat Gentle Mates, G2 Esports and NRG, then crushed Paper Rex 3:0 in the final.

A victory would be a major surprise, but it should not be written off. In Group C, the team has a strong chance of reaching the playoffs, where only a few wins would separate it from the final.

Another team that could surprise is Team Heretics. Four players on the team have been playing together since the end of 2023. At VALORANT Champions 2025, it finished 5-6. In the Lower Bracket Quarterfinals, it lost 1:2 to Paper Rex.

At EWC, Team Heretics will play in the weakest Group D, where it is considered the favorite. Winning the group could potentially give it an easier path in the playoffs.

VALORANT World Cup 2026 will take place from July 2 to 12. Group matches will be played first, while the playoffs will begin on July 9. The Grand Final and Third Place Match will take place on July 12. The full VALORANT EWC 2026 schedule:

Esports World Cup 2026 is a tournament that brings together 24 games, and it has major importance for VALORANT. In the 2026 season, four S-Tier tournaments will be played in total, and VALORANT World Cup is one of them.

Teams arrive here with strong motivation, not only because there are not many S-Tier tournaments, but also because this is the tournament with the second-largest prize pool. When making VALORANT bets at EWC 2026, the following aspects should be considered:

• Paper Rex arrives at the tournament after just losing the Masters London 2026 final. The tournament winner Leviatan will not be at EWC, which significantly increases Paper Rex’s chances of winning
• Group B is clearly the strongest. From the first matches, the teams here will be playing in playoff mode, as one of Paper Rex, Vitality and NRG will not reach the playoffs
• Team Vitality is one of the teams that will play in many different games at EWC and has ambitions to fight for first place in the Club Championship. A successful performance in the VALORANT tournament would contribute strongly to the organization’s overall result, since the first-place prize is paid out only if at least one tournament is won
• Nongshim RedForce is the Dark Horse of the tournament. The South Korean team did not play in London, but it won VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026. Since there are not many VALORANT tournaments during the year, teams have a lot of time to train and prepare for tournaments. At the same time, it is difficult to analyze opponents’ play