First Matchday of Esports World Cup 2026 Concludes

The first matchday of the Esports World Cup 2026 for Counter-Strike 2 has concluded in Paris. The teams played 16 opening-round matches in the group stage, determining the first winners and the teams that dropped to the lower bracket.

In Group A, JiJieHao stunned Team Spirit, GamerLegion defeated Luminosity, G2 beat M80, and BIG took down Aurora.

In Group B, Falcons started the tournament with a win over K27. Astralis came out on top against MIBR, FaZe defeated BetBoom Team, and Legacy beat NIP.

In Group C, Vitality opened successfully against 100 Thieves. B8 proved stronger than PARIVISION, FUT sent TYLOO to the lower bracket, and MOUZ defeated Lynn Vision.

Group D matches also ended without extended series. NAVI defeated 3DMAX, The MongolZ beat magic, 9z took down paiN, and FURIA closed out their match against Wildcard.

All first-round matches were played in a best-of-one format, meaning each result was decided on a single map. The winners will continue their run in the upper side of their groups, while the losing teams now face matches with a much smaller margin for error.

JiJieHao Shock Spirit at EWC 2026

Esports World Cup 2026 is taking place in Paris from August 12 to 23. The championship features 32 teams competing for a total prize pool of $2 million.