The Esports Foundation and ESL FACEIT Group have announced the prestigious S-Tier offline tournament, the Esports World Cup 2026, featuring the Black Ops 7 discipline. The competition will take place in France from August 5 to 9, 2026, at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles exhibition center.
The tournament will feature 16 teams competing for a total prize pool of $1,800,000 USD. The grand prize for first place will be $600,000 and 1,000 EWC Club Points. Participants finishing in second, third, and fourth places will receive $320,000, $210,000, and $130,000 respectively, along with corresponding ranking points. Teams placing 5th-8th will earn $75,000 and 200 points each, 9th-12th places will bring in $40,000 each, and 13th-16th places will receive $20,000 each.
The competition will consist of two stages. The Group Stage will run from August 5 to 7: the 16 participants will be divided into two GSL groups of 8 teams. All matches in this stage will be played in a Bo5 format, and the top 4 teams from each group will advance to the next stage.
The Playoffs stage will take place on August 8–9 using a Single Elimination bracket. The draw will randomly pair teams from the Upper Bracket against opponents from the Lower Bracket; however, teams from the same group cannot play against each other in the first round. All playoff matches will be held in a Bo7 format, while the championship will be decided in a Bo9 Grand Finals series.
A total of 64 players will compete in the tournament, with the absolute majority representing the United States — 35 individuals, accounting for 55% of the total participants. The United Kingdom is represented by 8 players, and Spain by 5. The host country, France, along with Belgium, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Scotland, will be represented by two esports athletes each.
All matches of the Esports World Cup 2026 for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will be broadcast live on the tournament's official YouTube channel.
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