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The Valorant side of the Esports World Cup is now over, with 100 Thieves taking home the top prize of $600,000. Here’s what things underfolded.
After first getting underway in 2024, the Esports World Cup is back for its third installment this summer, but this time it won’t be taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Instead, players from 24 different esports titles will compete in Paris, France.
From FGC to FPS, MOBAs to sports games, just about every major game out there is seeing some action – and that includes Valorant as one of the biggest games kicking things off in week one.
After the hotly contested London Masters Finals, which saw Leviathan come out on top, 16 of the world’s best teams will fight it out in France to try and take home the grand prize after Team Heretics claimed victory last year.
What happened at EWC 2026 for Valorant?
While plenty of focus has been on Heretics, seeing as they are defending champions, they were defeated in the play-offs by BBL Esports in a three-game series that was packed full of drama.
Heretics had much of the Paris crowd behind them, and that helped as they picked up the first match in a 16-14 nailbiter. However, they had little resistance against BBL Esports in match two, with the Turkish side romping to a 13-2 victory. The Turks then rolled that into a 13-10 map three victory, winning four rounds at the end of things to pull away and send Heretics home.
The home crowd may have hoped for a bounce-back in the second quarter-final, but that wasn’t the case, with NRG defeating Gentle Mates 2-1.
Despite having The Gentle Suits roaring all series long, Gentle Mates let their early 1-0 series lead slip, with NRG defeating them 13-9 and then 13-10 in the other two games.
Both teams ended up with 5th-8th finishes, taking home $90,000 each, meaning a name would be on the trophy this year.
French hopes of a champion were further dashed when Team Vitality were dumped out by NS RedForce in the first quarter-final on day eight. The South Korean squad went down in a close-fought first map, and rallied to dominate the final two games by scorelines of 13-7 and 13-2.
In the end, 100 Thieves cam out on top, seeing off their North American rivals NRG. The Thieves took down NS RedForce to set-up the all-American showdown, but easily had the beating of NRG, scoring a 3-1 series win.
NRG found thesmlves 2-0 down early, but rallied back to deny 100 Theives the 3-0 clean sweep, bagging a dominant 13-2 win on Haven. However, the Thieves closed things out with a 14-12 win on Ascent, with Matthew ‘Cryocells’ Panganiban scooping up MVP honors too.
| Place | Team | Prize Money |
| 1st | 100 Thieves | $600,000 |
| 2nd | NRG | $340,000 |
| 3rd | NS RedForce | $220,000 |
| 4th | BBL Esports | $140,000 |
| 5th-8th | MIBR | $90,000 |
| 5th-8th | Team Vitality | $90,000 |
| 5th-8th | Gentle Mates | $90,000 |
| 5th-8th | Team Heretics | $90,000 |
Valorant EWC 2026 – How to watch
Just like last year, games from the Esports World Cup will be broadcast across YouTube and Twitch. And even though there will be multiple Valorant matches going on, you don’t have to worry about missing out, there are multiple streams.
Twitch stream
Valorant EWC 2026 – Schedule and results
The group stage for the Valorant portion of things got underway on July 2, with the top two teams from each of the four groups advancing to the playoffs.
You can find all of the results so far, and remaining games below.
Esports World CupDay One – July 2
| Match | Result |
| EDward Gaming vs BBL Esports | BBL Esports 2-1 EDward Gaming |
| RRQ vs 100 Thieves | RRQ 0-2 100 Thieves |
| Paper Rex vs NRG | Paper Rex 1-2 NRG |
| Vitality vs Karmine Corp | Vitality 2-0 Karmine Corp |
Day Two – July 3
| Match | Result |
| MIBR vs Global Esports | MIBR 2-0 Global Esports |
| Heretics vs AG.AL | Heretics 2-1 AG.AL |
| G2 vs NS RedForce | G2 1-2 NS RedForce |
| Gentle Mates vs XLG | Gentle Mates 2-1 XLG |
Day Three – July 4
| Match | Result |
| BBL Esports vs 100 Thieves | BBL Esports 1-2 100 Thieves |
| EDward Gaming vs RRQ | EDward Gaming 2-0 RRQ |
| Vitality vs NRG | Vitality 2-1 NRG |
| Paper Rex vs Karmine Corp | Paper Rex 1-2 Karmine Corp |
Day Four – July 5
| Match | Result |
| MIBR vs Heretics | MIBR 0-2 Heretics |
| Global Esports vs AG.AL | Global Esports 0-2 AG.AL |
| G2 vs XLG | G2 2-0 XLG |
| Gentle Mates vs NS RedForce | Gentle Mates 2-1 NS RedForce |
Day Five – July 6
| Match | Result |
| BBL Esports vs EDward Gaming | BBL Esports 2-0 EDward Gaming |
| NRG vs Karmine Corp | NRG 1-0 Karmine Corp |
Day Six – July 7
| Match | Result |
| MIBR vs AG.AL | MIBR 2-1 AG.AL |
| G2 vs NS RedForce | G2 1-2 NS RedForce |
Day Seven – July 9
| Match | Result |
| Heretics vs BBL Esports | Heretics 1-2 BBL Esports |
| Gentle Mates vs NRG | Gentle Mates 1-2 NRG |
Day Eight – July 10
| Match | Result |
| Team Vitality vs NS RedForce | Team Vitality 1-2 NS RedForce |
| 100 Thieves vs MIBR | 100 Thieves 1-0 MIBR |
Day Nine – July 11
| Match | Time |
| NS RedForce vs 100 Thieves | NS RedForce 1-2 100 Thieves |
| BBL Esports vs NRG | BBL Esports 1-2 NRG |
Day Ten – July 12
| Match | Time |
| 3rd Place: NS RedForce vs BBL Esports | NS RedForce 2-0 BBL Esports |
| Final: 100 Thieves vs NRG | 100 Thieves 3-1 NRG |
Valorant EWC 2026 – Teams and Rosters
Heretics claimed the EWC title last summer and are back again as defending champions, and will be looking to build on their 7th-8th finish last time out in London.
They’ll be joined by G2 Esports, EDward Gaming, Paper Rex, Team Vitality, MIBR, 100 Thieves, XLG, Gentle Mates, Karmine Corp, Rex Regum Qeon, Global Esports, NRG, AG.AL, BBL Esports, and NS RedForce.
There will be plenty of home backing for Gentle Mates, Karmine Corp, and Vitality, who will try to push them through.
| Team | Players |
| Heretics | benjyfishy, Boo, Wo0t, RieNs, Koshmaras |
| G2 Esports | valyn, trent, leaf, jawgemo, babybay |
| EDward Gaming | nobody, CHICHOO, ZmjjKK, signed, Jieni7 |
| Paper Rex | d4v41, f0rsakeN, something, Jinggg, invy |
| Karmine Corp | N4RRATE, avez, SUYGETSU, dos9, LêwN |
| Gentle Mates | starxo, Proxh, Minny, marteen, bipo |
| Team Vitality | Jamppi, Sayonara, Derke, Chronicle, PROFEK |
| NRG | Ethan, mada, brawk, skuba, keiko |
| 100 Thieves | vora, Asuna, Cryocells, Timotino, bang |
| MIBR | Verno, aspas, Mazino, tex, zekken |
| XLG | WsLeo, Rarga, happywei, NoMan, Lysoar |
| Rex Regum Qeon | crazyguy, xffero, Jemkin, monyet, Kushy, xan |
| Global Esports | xavi8k, Kr1stal, UdoTan, autumn, PatMen |
| AG.AL | K1ra, Shr1mp, iamgrq, f4ngeer, Youze |
| BBL Esports | Rosé, Crewen, Lar0k, Loita, lovers rock |
| NS RedForce | Rb, Xross, Dambi, Francis, Ivy |
