The Esports World Cup 2026 has officially begun in Paris. The initial best-of-one matches immediately delivered unexpected outcomes.
The most significant surprise of the early matches featured JiJieHao securing a 13-10 victory over tournament favorites Spirit. The match highlighted a rare underperformance from sh1ro. He recorded his lowest map rating in 18 months with a score of 0.52. Despite the team loss, donk maintained his high standards and provided strong resistance to finish the game with a 1.58 rating.
In another highly anticipated matchup, BIG established a solid foundation for their tournament run with a 13-9 win against Aurora. The international roster of Aurora appeared uncoordinated at times during the match. This allowed the German organization to control the rounds and secure the victory.
Several other teams also claimed early success. Falcons delivered a commanding 13-6 win against K27 on Dust2. Legacy controlled their game against Ninjas in Pyjamas to finish with a 13-5 score. G2 faced a competitive match against M80 but ultimately closed it out 13-11. The MongolZ defeated magic 13-7, FUT secured a 13-10 win over TYLOO, and GamerLegion overwhelmed Luminosity 13-3 on Nuke.
Completed matches
- JiJieHao 13-10 Spirit
- BIG 13-9 Aurora
- Falcons 13-6 K27
- Legacy 13-5 Ninjas in Pyjamas
- G2 13-11 M80
- The MongolZ 13-7 magic
- FUT 13-10 TYLOO
- GamerLegion 13-3 Luminosity
Remaining schedule of the day
The opening day continues with eight more best-of-one matches on the schedule.
- 16:45 PARIVISION vs B8
- 17:00 BetBoom vs FaZe
- 18:30 MIBR vs Astralis
- 18:30 Natus Vincere vs 3DMAX
- 20:00 Vitality vs 100 Thieves
- 20:00 Wildcard vs FURIA
- 21:30 Lynn Vision vs MOUZ
- 21:30 9z vs paiN
You can livestream the matches here.
