The Esports World Cup 2026 starts its Dota 2 tournament tomorrow in Paris, and while 24 teams will battle over a $2 million prize pool, the more interesting fight is happening off-screen. For the first time, licensed blockchain and cryptocurrency companies can officially sponsor events at the festival under French AMF regulations.
The tournament itself
The Dota 2 competition runs from July 7 through July 19 at the Paris Expo, making it the second most important Dota 2 event of the year behind The International. Twenty-four international teams will compete in a round-robin group stage before advancing to playoffs.
Team Spirit, the defending champions from the CIS region, enter as heavy favorites. Their roster, featuring players like Yatoro and Collapse, has the kind of consistency that makes other teams very nervous.
The broader EWC 2026 festival runs from July 6 all the way through August 23 and spans 25 esports events across 24 different game titles. The total prize pool across the entire festival sits at a record $75 million. Previous EWC events have drawn hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.
