Esports World Cup crowns champs; T1 exits MSI

The Esports World Cup ran its first competitive week at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from July 8 to July 11. Organizers reported the overall festival carried a prize pool above $75 million. SNK’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves held a 32-player main event with a $1 million purse. Darkangel, representing Natus Vincere, defeated Virtus.pro’s mi2ha4 in the July 11 grand final to win $250,000 and 1,000 Club Championship points.

The festival also included the Apex Legends Global Series Split 1 Playoffs. UNLIMIT beat ZETA DIVISION in a final-circle duel to claim the ALGS title and associated prize money.

The Mid-Season Invitational took place in Daejeon as a $2 million tournament. T1 entered MSI as the defending world champion and went undefeated through the Play-In stage, then lost 2-3 to Bilibili Gaming in the upper bracket. That loss sent T1 to the lower bracket, where Europe’s G2 Esports eliminated T1 with a 3-1 victory on July 8.

G2 employed coordinated macro play and unconventional champion selections, including a Kled top-lane pick by BrokenBlade, to pressure T1 across the map. The 1-3 result placed T1 tied for fifth and sixth and earned the organization roughly $160,000 in prize money. Tournament records indicate this is the first time T1 and long-time player Faker have finished outside the top four at an attended major international LAN event.

Prize money, championship points and playoff placements from the Esports World Cup and MSI will factor into team schedules, seeding and qualification for regional summer splits and the 2026 World Championship.