Dec 18: EWC and Epic Games announced a partnership. Fortnite and Rocket League are locked in as official titles for 3 years. Only one spot left for remaining titles.
League of Legends: No info on participating teams or prize pool yet, just the schedule (July 13โ19). If they follow last year's format, Gen.G is already locked in as the defending champion.
Counter-Strike 2: The biggest overhaul so far. Massive scale-up compared to last yearโ32 teams, total prize pool of $2M, with $600k for the winner. Seeding includes Top 21 from Valve Global Rankings + 6 regional seeds + ACL winner (China) + 4 from LCQ. Format is 4 groups of 8 in double-elimination, Top 4 from each group hit the playoffs. All matches Bo3 except the Bo5 finals. Runs Aug 12โ23.
Chess: Will be held as the 'Champions Chess Tour Grand Finals.' Carlsen qualifies as defending champ. 16 players total (top 3 from events, top 6 in CCT points, etc.). Crucial detail: seeds don't pass down to the runner-up in individual events; they go to the next person in the CCT rankings (to be announced around June). Example: Carlsen is in the Speed Chess Championship Top 4, but even if he places top 3, the EWC seed goes to the CCT point leader, not the 4th place finisher.
PUBG Mobile: No specific schedule yet. Prize pool is $3M, same as last year.
PUBG: Schedule/prize pool TBD (expected July). Massive backlash from overseas fans because they're switching from FPP (1st person) to TPP (3rd person) starting next year.
Fatal Fury: Schedule/prize TBD. Winner gets a seed for the SNK World Championship.
Rainbow Six Siege: Now an official R6 Esports event. No SI points, but the winner gets a direct seed to Six Invitational 2027. Set for August.
Fortnite: Entering as 'Reload Elite Series Championship.' Duo format, 40 teams total. Qualifiers across 4 series (EU, NA Central, NA West, Asia, OCE, Brazil, Middle East). Total prize pool is $1M.
"Users are dissecting the qualification seeds for LoL while mourning the 'TPP' disaster in PUBG and marveling at the sheer power of Saudi oil money."
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