T1, South Korea’s most decorated League of Legends organization, dispatched Vietnam’s GAM Esports in a clean 2-0 sweep on July 15 to punch their ticket to the Esports World Cup playoffs.
The 2026 Esports World Cup, running from July 6 to August 23 in Paris, is operating with a record-breaking $75 million total prize pool. And for the first time in the event’s history, crypto companies are sitting at the sponsor table.
Crypto’s front-row seat in competitive gaming
Coinbase and Bitget have signed on as the EWC’s inaugural cryptocurrency sponsors. The deals were made possible by updated French regulations around digital asset advertising.
Coinbase has taken the integration a step further with its prediction market platform. Ahead of the T1 vs. GAM matchup, significant trading volume appeared on Coinbase Predictions, with large positions placed in favor of the Korean squad.
