Esports World Cup 2026 bails on Riyadh, moves $75M festival to Paris

The decision is a massive pivot for the Saudi-backed organizers just under two months before the July 6 start date. According to a report by GamesBeat’s Alexander Lee, the uncertain geopolitical climate and the ongoing war in Iran ultimately forced the move. EWC Foundation CEO Ralf Reichert had previously voiced hopes of keeping the third edition in Riyadh, but reality forced the tournament to look elsewhere.

For the Counter-Strike scene, this sudden relocation turns the August 12-23 main event into a massive home crowd advantage for Team Vitality. The CS tournament itself is getting a massive upgrade this year, doubling its team count to 32 and bumping the prize pool to $2 million. Most of the slots are locked in via the global VRS, with regional invites and one spot reserved for the winner of the ongoing Hero Esports Asian Champions League in Shanghai.

Moving a seven-week festival with 24 different games across the globe is a logistical headache. Four of the CS slots were supposed to come from a 128-team open LAN qualifier, but its fate is now entirely up in the air due to the location swap. On top of that, Valve still needs to grant the EWC a formal rulebook exception for the sudden shift. The developer last updated its exceptions file seven months ago, adding another layer of suspense to an already chaotic relocation.