Chinese club wins the Club Championship trophy as the Esports World Cup concludes in Paris; Saudi Arabia’s Team Falcons finishes second after holding the title for two consecutive years

Paris | BETH

French President Emmanuel Macron crowned Chinese club AG.AL International the winner of the Club Championship on Sunday evening, as the 2026 Esports World Cup concluded in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia.

Macron presented the trophy to the champions during the closing ceremony at the Grand Palais in Paris, bringing seven weeks of competition to an end in the tournament’s first edition held outside Saudi Arabia since its launch.

AG.AL secured the title after finishing at the top of the Club Championship standings with 5,300 points, ahead of Saudi club Team Falcons, champions of the previous two editions, which finished second with 4,600 points. Team Vitality placed third with 3,300 points.

The champions received $7 million, while Team Falcons earned $5 million and Team Vitality received $4 million, from the Club Championship’s total prize pool of $30 million.

The Paris Decider

The race for the Club Championship remained open until the final stage, with Team Falcons entering the closing week at the top of the standings and close to winning the title for a third consecutive year.

French player Gwendal “Gwen” Duparc, however, decided the contest in AG.AL’s favor by winning the Trackmania title and adding the points that lifted his club to first place overall.

Duparc needed only to finish among the top three to secure the Club Championship for AG.AL. Instead, he claimed first place, leading the club to the overall title and earning a personal prize of $130,000.

The Chinese organization competed in 18 tournaments and won six medals, including the TEKKEN 8 title, along with three second-place finishes. Those results gave AG.AL the cumulative points needed to seize the lead at the final stage. 

Despite losing the trophy, Team Falcons maintained its position among the world’s leading esports clubs and remained in contention until the closing moments, having come close to achieving the unprecedented feat of winning three consecutive titles.

From Riyadh to the World

The story of the Esports World Cup began in October 2023, when the Crown Prince announced the launch of the tournament and the establishment of the Esports World Cup Foundation. The annual event began in the summer of 2024 as part of a broader drive to support the gaming and esports industry, strengthen its sustainability, and consolidate Saudi Arabia’s position as a global hub for the sector.

The tournament grew out of the National Gaming and Esports Strategy, which seeks to diversify the economy, develop tourism, create employment opportunities, and establish an integrated industry ecosystem in the Kingdom. 

In the inaugural 2024 edition, Team Falcons dominated the competition and topped the Club Championship standings with 5,665 points, after recording 10 top-three finishes, including three tournament victories. The Saudi club lifted the trophy and received the $7 million first-place prize.

The inaugural edition attracted more than 500 million viewers across digital platforms, while its activities at Boulevard City in Riyadh recorded around 2.6 million visits.

Team Falcons returned in 2025 to retain its title, collecting 5,200 points across 22 tournaments and finishing ahead of Team Liquid and Team Vitality. It became the first club to win the Club Championship in two consecutive years.

The second edition brought together more than 2,000 players representing 200 clubs from 100 countries, with a total prize pool exceeding $70 million. It attracted 750 million viewers, generated 350 million hours watched online, and welcomed around three million visitors to its activities in Riyadh. 

The First International Edition

The tournament moved to Paris for its third edition, bringing together more than 2,000 players from 200 clubs and over 100 countries. They competed across 24 games in 25 tournaments for a record prize pool exceeding $75 million, the largest in esports history.

The competitions and accompanying events extended over seven weeks at several locations across the French capital, while coverage was carried by platforms and broadcasters reaching 160 countries.

The move to Paris was more than a change of venue. It tested the Saudi project’s ability to evolve from a global event hosted in Riyadh into a Saudi-founded platform capable of moving between the world’s leading capitals without losing its identity or connection to the Kingdom where it began.

The Crown Prince’s presence alongside the French president at the closing ceremony gave the first international edition a significance extending beyond competition. An event launched as part of Saudi Arabia’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy has become a platform bringing together sport, technology, investment, entertainment industries, and international relations.

A Moment Beyond the Trophy

AG.AL lifted the Club Championship trophy, while Team Falcons retained its place among the world’s strongest esports organizations. Yet the closing scene carried a meaning that extended beyond the final standings.

In the first edition, Riyadh crowned the champion of its new project.

In the second, the tournament proved its capacity to grow and endure, while Team Falcons retained its title.

In the third, the president of France presented the trophy in Paris, in the presence of the Crown Prince who had announced the tournament’s launch less than three years earlier.

The Esports World Cup, therefore, did not simply move from Riyadh to Paris. It evolved from a Saudi idea that hosted the world into a Saudi industry moving across the world.