Esports World Cup confirms location shift

Earlier this month, reports surfaced claiming that the 2026 edition of the Esports World Cup would move away from Riyadh due to the middle-eastern conflict. The tournament organizer behind the Esports World Cup has just confirmed the same through a press release announcing that this year's Esports World Cup will take place in Paris.

The organizer downplayed the middle-eastern conflict when stating the reason for this move, claiming that "The Esports World Cup was created with a long-term vision to become a global platform for esports, bringing the event to major cities around the world over time" and describes the move to Paris as a byproduct of the same while casually mentioning the "current regional situation" as one of the factors.

While Paris will host the 2026 edition, Riyadh remains central to the event’s long-term future with the intention to return in 2027.
Esports World Cup

Carrying a combined prize pool of over $75,000,000 USD, the Esports World Cup will still hold the same dates in the calendar while making slight changes to schedules of individual tournaments. The event is set to run for seven weeks, hosting tournaments across 20+ esports titles. The Counter-Strike 2 tournament is scheduled for the final two weeks between 12th and 23rd August with a massive $2,000,000 USD prize pool.