League of Legends Draws 1.4 Million EWC Viewers as Dplus Kia Storms Through Paris

The 2026 Esports World Cup marked the archetypal variation held extracurricular Saudi Arabia. Organizers moved the tourney to Paris Expo Porte de Versailles aft announcing the relocation successful May. The lawsuit drew much than 2,000 players from much than 200 clubs crossed 24 games and 25 tournaments, backed by a grounds prize excavation topping $75 million.

Four titles were progressive implicit the past week: Dota 2, League of Legends, Free Fire, and the MLBB Women’s Invitational.

League of Legends Delivers the Biggest Crowd

League of Legends pulled the largest assemblage of the week. Esports Charts tracked a highest of 1,449,163 concurrent viewers for the tournament, with the semifinal betwixt T1 and Karmine Corp drafting astir 1,447,194 highest viewers connected its own.

The playoff tract formed aft a GSL-style radical signifier that sent 8 teams into a single-elimination bracket: Bilibili Gaming, T1, AG.AL, Dplus Kia, Gen.G, Karmine Corp, Hanwha Life Esports, and JD Gaming. Dplus Kia bushed Bilibili Gaming 2-1 successful the quarterfinals, past Gen.G 2-1 successful the semifinals, earlier closing retired Karmine Corp 3-0 successful the expansive final. Karmine Corp reached the last by beating T1 2-1 successful its ain semifinal. Gen.G bushed T1 successful the third-place match.

Gosugamers reported that Dplus Kia bot laner Smash earned MVP honors, and that the triumph marked the team’s archetypal planetary rubric since 2020. Dplus Kia collected $600,000 from the $2 cardinal prize pool. Karmine Corp took location $340,000 arsenic runner-up.

Team Vitality Fem Defends Its Crown

Team Vitality Fem bushed Natus Vincere PH 4-2 successful the MLBB Women’s Invitational expansive final, defending the rubric it won previously. Natus Vincere PH reached the last by beating Galaxy Phoenix 3-0 successful the semifinals, portion Team Vitality Fem got past Geltek Cyber Team 3-1. Geltek Cyber Team past took 3rd spot with a 3-0 triumph implicit Galaxy Phoenix.

The tourney peaked astatine astir 565,483 concurrent viewers, with the Vitality-NAVI last drafting the largest assemblage of the bracket. Pre-event materials listed a $525,000 purse for the tournament, portion a nationalist docket leafage aboriginal listed $500,000, leaving the last payout fig unresolved.

LYON Tops a Crowded Free Fire Field

LYON won the Free Fire rubric with 155 points, up of AG.AL connected 122 and LOUD connected 111, according to the authoritative Esports World Cup results dataset. The lawsuit called LYON’s full a record-breaking points haul. The tourney ran arsenic a multi-day conflict royale format alternatively than a head-to-head bracket.

Twenty-four teams were divided into 2 groups of 12 for the opening rounds connected July 15 and 16, with the apical 4 from each radical advancing straight and the bottommost 2 eliminated. Teams that finished 5th done 10th moved into a endurance signifier connected July 17, wherever the apical 4 precocious to articulation the radical winners successful a 12-team expansive last connected July 18.

Esportsverse listed the full Free Fire purse astatine $1,025,000. Publicly disposable results confirmed LOUD’s third-place payout astatine $120,000, Twisted Minds’ fourth-place stock astatine $80,000, and Fluxo W7M’s fifth-place full astatine $61,000.

League of Legends outdrew each different rubric with a nationalist viewership fig this week. It’s 1,449,163 highest topped the MLBB Women’s Invitational’s 565,483 and Dota 2’s 324,997. Free Fire’s highest spectator number was not exposed successful the publically indexed sources.

Dota 2 Grand Final Still Unresolved astatine Cutoff

Dota 2 was the 1 rubric near unfastened astatine the adjacent of the week. Team Yandex bushed Vici Gaming 2-0 to fastener successful 3rd place, but the expansive last betwixt Betboom Team and PARIVISION remained unrecorded arsenic of 6:50 p.m. Paris clip connected Sunday, with Liquipedia inactive listing archetypal spot arsenic “TBD.” Betboom Team reached the last by beating Vici Gaming 2-0 successful the semifinals, portion PARIVISION got past Team Yandex 2-1.

Dota 2 carried a $2 cardinal prize excavation of its own. Esports Charts and Field Level Media reported a $750,000 winner’s share, with Team Yandex banking $200,000 for 3rd and Vici Gaming taking $120,000 for fourth. The tourney peaked astatine 324,997 concurrent viewers, with the Betboom-PARIVISION last logging the largest assemblage of the week for the title.

Integrity Investigation Shakes up Dota 2 Field

The week’s biggest contention deed Dota 2. The work gosugamers.net reported that Playtime players Vintage and Darkmago were suspended amid an integrity investigation, and that the enactment aboriginal parted ways with Vintage, Darkmago, and a 3rd player, Frank. Playtime forfeited its lucifer against Vici Gaming and was eliminated from the tournament. Vici Gaming precocious to look 1w Team successful its place.

What Comes Next

The Paris variation closes retired a tally that started July 6 and continues done August 23 crossed the city’s venues, with the 2nd week astir complete. With 3 champions already decided and Dota 2’s expansive last resolving soon aft the reporting cutoff, the week gave organizers, sponsors, and broadcasters a wide work connected which titles are pulling the biggest crowds heading into the tournament’s remaining weeks. League of Legends’ viewership numbers, successful particular, springiness Riot Games and tourney organizers a beardown information constituent arsenic they program aboriginal events successful the Paris market.