Road to EWC: May 2026

May featured two major milestones on the Road to EWC: EVO Japan and DreamHack Atlanta. Separated by nearly 7,000 miles, both events brought together competitors chasing the same goal: securing qualification to the Esports World Cup.

EVO Japan

At EVO Japan, Eisuke Yamaguchi delivered a breakout performance in Street Fighter 6, winning over $25,000 after navigating a massive bracket and defeating Lin "Hope" Jun-xi and Kojiro Higuchi before closing out the grand final with a 3-1 win over Victor “Punk” Woodley.

In TEKKEN 8, South Korea’s Kim “iKARi” Min-kyu claimed over $15,000 with a composed run through a stacked field, taking down two-time Esports World Cup champion Lim "Ulsan" Soo-hoon and Hafiz Tanveer en route to a grand final against Bae "Knee" Jae-min, where he recovered from a bracket reset to secure a 3-1 victory.

In FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves, multi-title Esports World Cup champion Zeng “Xiao Hai” Zhuojun continued his dominant form, capturing another international trophy and further cementing his status as one of the most consistent forces in fighting games.

DreamHack Atlanta

DreamHack Atlanta brought competitors across Chess, Street Fighter 6, TEKKEN 8, FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves, Counter-Strike 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Call of Duty: Warzone, with multiple EWC berths awarded across a packed weekend of competition.

In Chess, Aravindh Chithambaram, Andrey Esipenko, Liem Le, and Alexey Sarana secured qualification for the Esports World Cup through strong performances in Atlanta, emerging from a deep international field in the Last Chance Qualifier.

In FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves, Shoji “Fenritti” Sho claimed victory, securing the tournament win and an EWC qualification spot after a strong run through the bracket. Street Fighter 6 saw Kobayan come out on top, while TEKKEN 8 was won by Gen.G’s Han “Mulgold” Jae-gyun, who defeated Jeong “Rangchu” Hyeon-ho and Arslan Ash en route to the grand final before overcoming Takaba Keisuke 3-1 to secure the title.

Across Counter-Strike 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Call of Duty: Warzone, teams battled through stacked fields in Atlanta, with tournament winners and top performers further shaping the competitive landscape as the Road to EWC continues to build toward the summer finale..

From Riyadh to Paris

One of May’s biggest announcements is that EWC 26 will be hosted in Paris, France, bringing the world's premier esports competition to one of Europe's most iconic cities. We are excited to welcome thousands of players and fans to Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. Secure your early bird ticket before they run out.

Grab your tickets here.

Notable Roster Changes

Competition at EWC 2026 is nearly upon us, but that hasn’t stopped teams from making further tweaks to their rosters and staff setups. May saw coaching changes across VALORANT and Counter-Strike 2 as organizations refined preparations heading into the final stretch of qualification and competition.

In VALORANT, Alexander “alexRr” Frisch joined Wolves Esports as head coach, while Gambit Esports veteran Andrey “Engh” Sholokhov took over as head coach of FNATIC, adding experience to one of the game’s most storied organizations.

In Counter-Strike 2, Justinas “jL” Lekavičius parted ways with MOUZ following the conclusion of NAVI’s loan spell to the European and Israeli squad, marking a notable roster adjustment in the tier-one ecosystem.

Beyond roster movement, Karmine Corp were reinstated into the Esports World Cup Partner Program just one day after securing qualification in League of Legends. Karmine Corp has quickly risen to global prominence through its competitive pursuits, becoming the first French club to win the LEC in 2025 and claiming the Rocket League trophy at EWC 2025.