AG.AL needed a podium finish in Trackmania to take the Esports World Cup’s biggest prize, and their French player Gwendal “Gwen” Duparc won it outright. His victory on Saturday (Aug. 22) in the new event pushed AG.AL to 5,300 Club Championship points, 700 clear of Team Falcons, who had led heading into the final weekend and were chasing a third straight title, Gambling.com reports.
Falcons’ plan came apart when their Trackmania entrant, Carl-Antoni “Carl Jr.” Cloutier, was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Duparc took the full 1,000 points and the $130,000 individual prize. AG.AL also won Tekken 8 through M. Zubair, took second place in Chess, Free Fire and the Honor of Kings World Cup, and finished third in Teamfight Tactics, per the Esports Foundation’s results.
Winning the Club Championship is a historic milestone for AG.AL and a proud moment for everyone who believed in what we are building,
Eddy Chen, COO, AG.AL, Gambling.com
Chen credited Duparc’s Trackmania title and Zubair’s Tekken run for the club’s campaign. AG.AL had been runner-up to Falcons in both 2024 and 2025, so this one was a long time coming. The Esports Foundation announced the result on Aug. 23, the closing day, when Team Spirit also won Counter-Strike 2.
The final standings
Falcons finished second with 4,600 points, followed by Team Vitality with 3,300, Natus Vincere with 2,950 and Team Liquid with 2,700, according to the same report. The Club Championship’s top prize was $7 million for AG.AL and $5 million for Falcons, who still took Street Fighter 6 and Rocket League over the seven weeks.
Why it matters
This was the first Esports World Cup held outside Riyadh. The Esports Foundation announced in May that it would move the 2026 edition to Paris, citing “the current regional situation,” and Paris hosted more than 2,000 players and 200 clubs competing across 24 games and 25 tournaments for a prize pool of more than $75 million, per Khaleej Times. The foundation said Riyadh remains the home of the event.
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The numbers grew with the move. The foundation reported 850 million viewers and 440 million hours watched, up 13% and 26% from last year, and 175,000 tickets sold, up 94% on 2025. It said the competition connected more than 1.5 million players through 330 qualifying events during the year.
Seven weeks in Paris also meant a calendar that overlapped with the soccer one. The League of Legends final, won by DPLUS KIA, was held July 19, the same day as the World Cup final and its first halftime show. Sortiraparis closed its results roundup with “See you in summer 2027.” Gaming’s next big stage comes sooner: Gamescom’s Opening Night Live is on Aug. 25.
Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.
