TWIC is 31. First issue 17th September 1994.Esports World Cup 2026 (Final)
Carlsen wins the Chess event in the Esports World Cup
Mark Crowther - Saturday 15th August 2026
Carlsen and Denis Lazavik playing the final. | https://esportsworldcup.com/en
Magnus Carlsen convincingly won the lucrative chess final of the Esports World Cup which is being held in Paris, France. The event as a whole has 25 tournaments held over 24 different games and takes place July 6th to August 23rd, a period of 48 days. The claimed total prize fund for the entire event is US$75 million, the total for the chess was $1.5m with $250,000 for the winner, $190,000 for second, $145,000 for third place, and $115,000 fourth place. It might truly be said that the only really serious thing about the chess tournament in the Esports World Cup is the prize money.
The players also sign up to be part of teams such as Team Liquid, Team Vitality, Karmine Corp, Ninjas in Pyjamas, who are legends in their own right. Games played alongside the chess include Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Counter-Strike 2, EA Sports FC 26, PUBG and Fortnite.
The chess events in Paris itself consisted of blitz chess, mostly 10 minutes without increment but they also used Armageddon tie-breaks after a couple of games. There was an initial final qualifying play-in, a group stage and a final. Most of these were Double Elimination KOs but the finals were straight KO. If Carlsen has looked unsteady in recent months here he he was imperious, he won matches against Andrey Esipenko, Hans Moke Niemann, Nihal Sarin, Alireza Firouzja and finally Denis Lazavik (the latter two sets to zero because naturally you have to change the format for the final) all without the loss of a game, that's all there is to be said really.
This title is Carlsen's second Esports World Cup title in a Row, he also won the 2025 edition; he beat Alireza Firouzja in the final there.
The third placed playoff was between Nakamura and Firouzja, Nakamura was already leading the six game match when Firouzja went down to a loss due to a bad connection, of course in an Esports World Cup one might expect the occasional problem with the internet, which is not at all central to its operation. Firouzja then just gave up the match. You can understand Firouzja's frustration, just as you can understand him choosing here, in Paris, the capital of his adoptive country, rather than the Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup, you can understand a lot of things, but if they happen too often, even if it's never your fault, you can easily get a reputation for flakiness.
My full summary page of the Esports World Cup
| Esports World Cup 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Rk | Player | Results | Score |
| Round 3 | ||||
| 1–2 | 1 | Carlsen, Magnus | 1½½1|1½½1 | 2(6) |
| 2 | Lazavik, Denis | 0½½0|0½½0 | 0(2) | |
| 3–4 | 3 | Nakamura, Hikaru | ½1½11 | 4 |
| 4 | Firouzja, Alireza | ½0½00 | 1 | |
| Round 2 | ||||
| 1 | 1 | Carlsen, Magnus | ½½111 | 4 |
| 2 | Firouzja, Alireza | ½½000 | 1 | |
| 2 | 1 | Lazavik, Denis | ½½1½1 | 3.5 |
| 2 | Nakamura, Hikaru | ½½0½0 | 1.5 | |
| Round 1 | ||||
| 1 | 1 | Carlsen, Magnus | 11½ | 2.5 |
| 2 | Nihal Sarin | 00½ | 0.5 | |
| 2 | 1 | Firouzja, Alireza | 1½½½ | 2.5 |
| 2 | Niemann, Hans Moke | 0½½½ | 1.5 | |
| 3 | 1 | Nakamura, Hikaru | ½½½½1 | 3 |
| 2 | Erigaisi Arjun | ½½½½0 | 2 | |
| 4 | 1 | Lazavik, Denis | ½½½½1 | 3 |
| 2 | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | ½½½½0 | 2 | |
View the games on this Page
Download the PGN from this page
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