Samsung Electronics has concluded this year's global PUBG Mobile tournament, the PlayGalaxy Cup. The World Final of the competition took place on August 27–28 at Gamescom 2026 in Cologne. The key highlight of the tournament was its format change: for the first time in its six-year history, the event ran as a full season with regional qualifiers, fully transitioning away from a one-off event.
Qualifiers spanned five regions: North America, Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Europe. In total, 32 teams from 17 countries competed in the cycle. The top two teams from each region earned tickets to the World Final—ultimately, 10 teams from 9 countries competed at Gamescom.
From a business perspective, the shift to a season format marks the tournament's transformation from a one-time marketing expense into a long-term platform. A season-long league requires players and fans to regularly follow the events over weeks or months. This provides the brand with sustained audience engagement and more opportunities for product integration. This move mirrors the evolution of traditional PC and console esports leagues, which have long shifted to calendar-based seasons to maintain steady interest.
David Moon, Head of Influencer Marketing at Samsung's Mobile eXperience division, also emphasized the significance of the tournament's first-ever full-season format, noting the success in bringing together players from around the world. In addition to building its own ecosystem, Samsung continues to invest in the industry through partnerships: the company recently became an official partner of the DreamHack Birmingham tournament and signed an agreement with the Norwegian esports organization Metizport, becoming its official monitor supplier.
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