The Esports Federation announced today (Wednesday) that Paris, France, will host the 2026 Esports World Cup from July 6 to August 23, 2026. This will be the first edition of the tournament to be held outside of Saudi Arabia, as part of the Federation's strategy to expand the tournament's global reach.
This move aligns with the Federation's vision of implementing a city-by-city rotation system for its tournaments, enhancing their presence as international platforms that bring together players, clubs, publishers, and fans. This strategy aims to solidify the esports sector's position as a global sports and entertainment industry, contributing to its growth as one of the fastest-growing sectors within the digital economy and entertainment worldwide.
The decision to accelerate the rotation system and announce Paris as the host city for the 2026 Esports World Cup followed a comprehensive evaluation of various organizational and operational aspects. This evaluation considered the tournament's stability, the clarity of its schedule for teams, players, partners, and fans, as well as the current regional situation, ensuring its continuity and maximizing its global impact.
The organization also announced that the tournament will maintain its full organizational structure, schedule, and competitive format, featuring over 2,000 players and 200 clubs from more than 100 countries competing in 25 events across 24 of the most popular esports games for a share of an unprecedented prize pool exceeding $75 million.
Esports Foundation CEO Ralf Reichert emphasized that Riyadh has been the turning point from which the tournament has launched onto the global stage, thanks to its supportive leadership of the sector. He added that Riyadh has solidified its position by hosting the largest and most influential event in the gaming and esports industry, and that what has been achieved so far reflects the Kingdom's vision and ambition to build a sustainable global ecosystem based on advanced infrastructure, exceptional talent, and a passionate community.
He noted that the tournament's move to Paris marks a new phase in its global expansion, being the first edition to be held outside the Kingdom. This comes as a result of the tournament's growing public support and enthusiasm. He expressed the organization's aspiration to deliver an edition that further solidifies the tournament's position as a global platform where competition, innovation, and digital culture intersect.
For his part, Faisal bin Hamran, CEO of Esports at the organization, pointed out that since the launch of the Esports World Cup in 2024, Riyadh has become home to one of the most significant development and growth stories in the history of global esports. He affirmed the organization's continued commitment to developing the tournament as a global celebration of competition, innovation, culture, and community, wherever it is held worldwide. He emphasized that moving the tournament to Paris, one of the world's leading sports capitals, will contribute to conveying the distinguished legacy of the tournament, which originated in Riyadh. It will also highlight the Kingdom's and the city's pride in establishing the tournament's foundations and developing it into a global phenomenon that travels to the world's most prominent cities, showcasing its pioneering role in advancing the esports sector globally.
This announcement comes as the tournament continues to strengthen its global presence and expand its fan base, following its successive successes in the Saudi capital. The 2025 edition of the tournament attracted more than 750 million viewers worldwide, generating over 350 million hours of watch time, with a peak concurrent viewership of nearly 8 million. Twenty-eight platforms broadcast the tournament in more than 35 languages to approximately 140 countries, in collaboration with 97 broadcast partners and over 800 international channels.
Riyadh also welcomed more than 3 million visitors to the tournament venue and its accompanying festival, offering a comprehensive experience that combined sports competition, entertainment, and culture, cementing the tournament's position as one of the world's leading events in the gaming and esports sector.
Details regarding the venue for the 2026 Esports World Cup in Paris will be announced in the coming weeks, and the organization will communicate directly with clubs, teams, players, and ticket holders to provide them with further information about the implications of the venue change.
The Electronic Sports Foundation announced today (Wednesday) that the French capital, Paris, will host the 2026 Electronic Sports World Cup, from July 6 to August 23, 2026. This will be the first edition held outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as part of the foundation's strategy to expand the tournament's global presence.
This step comes within the foundation's vision to implement a rotation system among cities to host the tournaments organized by the foundation and to enhance the presence of these tournaments as international platforms that bring together players, clubs, publishers, and fans, solidifying the position of the electronic sports sector as a global sports and entertainment industry, contributing to its growth as one of the fastest-growing sectors in the digital economy and entertainment worldwide.
The decision to accelerate the rotation system and announce Paris as the host city for the 2026 Electronic Sports World Cup followed a comprehensive evaluation of various organizational and operational aspects, considering the stability of the tournament and the clarity of its schedule for teams, players, partners, and fans, alongside the current regional conditions, ensuring its continuity and enhancing its global impact.
The foundation also announced that the tournament will maintain its entire organizational structure, schedule, and competitive system, featuring the participation of more than 2,000 male and female players, and 200 clubs from over 100 countries, competing in 25 competitions across 24 of the most popular games and electronic sports, for a share of an unprecedented prize pool exceeding $75 million.
Ralph Reichert, the CEO of the Electronic Sports Foundation, confirmed that the city of Riyadh has been a turning point from which the tournament launched into the global scene, thanks to its supportive leadership of the sector. Riyadh has contributed to solidifying its position by hosting the largest and most impactful event in the gaming and electronic sports sector, and what has been achieved so far reflects the Kingdom’s vision and ambition to build a sustainable global ecosystem based on advanced infrastructure, exceptional talents, and a passionate community.
He noted that the transfer of the tournament to Paris represents a new phase in its global expansion journey, as the first edition of the tournament to be held outside the Kingdom, resulting from the growing support and passion from fans. He expressed the foundation's eagerness to present an edition that continues to solidify the tournament's position as a global platform where competition, innovation, and digital culture intersect.
For his part, Faisal bin Hamran, the CEO of electronic sports at the foundation, pointed out that since the launch of the Electronic Sports World Cup in 2024, the city of Riyadh has become home to one of the most significant stories of development and growth in the history of electronic sports globally. The foundation continues its commitment to developing the tournament as a global celebration of competition, innovation, culture, and community, wherever it is held around the world. He emphasized that moving the tournament to Paris, one of the foremost capitals of global sports, will help transfer the distinguished legacy of the tournament that originated in Riyadh, highlighting the pride of the Kingdom and the city in building and developing the foundations of the tournament to become a global phenomenon that moves between the world's leading cities, showingcasing its pioneering role in elevating the electronic sports sector globally.
This announcement comes at a time when the tournament continues to enhance its global presence and expand its fan base, following the successive successes it achieved in the Saudi capital, where the 2025 edition of the tournament attracted over 750 million viewers worldwide and achieved more than 350 million hours of viewing, with a peak concurrent viewership near 8 million viewers. Additionally, 28 platforms participated in broadcasting the tournament in over 35 languages to approximately 140 countries, in collaboration with 97 broadcasting partners and more than 800 global channels.
Riyadh also welcomed more than 3 million visitors to the tournament site and its accompanying festival, providing a comprehensive experience that combined sports competitions, entertainment, and culture, solidifying the tournament’s position as one of the most prominent global events in the gaming and electronic sports sector.
Details about the location of the 2026 Electronic Sports World Cup in Paris will be announced in the coming weeks, and the foundation will communicate directly with clubs, teams, players, and fans holding event tickets to provide them with more information about what the location change means for them.
