Esports World Cup 2026 Reportedly Moves From Riyadh to Paris

Reportedly, the 2026 Esports World Cup is set for a major late change, with Paris replacing Riyadh as host city less than two months before the festival begins. Stay tuned for the key dates, invites, and qualifier details. 

Paris Set to Host the Seven-Week Esports World Cup

The EWC 2026 was first set for Riyadh from July 6 to August 23, but the event is now reportedly moving to Paris because of travel and safety concerns in the region.

The plan still looks huge for players and fans:

• Seven weeks of competition
• 25 tournaments across 24 games
• Over 2,000 players
• 200 Clubs from more than 100 countries
• $75 million total prize pool
• $30 million for the Club Championship

For any Counter Strike fan, it could turn Paris into one of the biggest stops of the summer.

CS2 Event Expands to 32 Teams and a $2 Million Prize Pool

For CS2, the reported Paris move makes EWC 2026 even more interesting. The tournament is expected to run from August 12 to August 23, taking the final two weeks of the festival.

The invite split is also expected to be bigger and more open. The field should include 21 teams from the global Valve Regional Standings, plus two from North America, two from South America, two from Asia, one from the Hero Esports Asian Champions League, and four from a LAN open qualifier. For fans, that means more matchups, more upset chances, and a much wider race for the trophy.

Open Qualifier and Valve Approval Remain Unclear

The open qualifier is still the main question mark. Four CS2 spots were expected to come through a non-BYOC LAN qualifier with up to 128 teams, but that plan was built around Riyadh. If EWC 2026 moves to Paris, the qualifier may need updated dates, a new venue setup, or fresh approval.

Valve’s side also matters. Any change to the event location or format could need an exception, so teams are not fully clear to lock in travel yet. For now, it is a classic CS waiting game: the server is almost ready, but the match has not gone live.