The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has officially launched Road to EWC, a comprehensive global qualification programme that sets the stage for the Esports World Cup 2026.

The initiative brings together more than 230 tournaments across regions, games and competitive levels, creating a unified, season-long pathway leading up to the mega event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, scheduled from July 6 to August 23, 2026.

According to a press release issued by the Foundation, Road to EWC is designed to connect publisher-led leagues, elite international tournaments and grassroots qualifiers into a single global esports calendar. By doing so, it offers players, teams and clubs—from emerging talent to established professionals—a clear and structured route to compete on what is positioned as the world’s biggest esports stage, while also giving fans a transparent, year-round competitive roadmap to follow.

The programme integrates official leagues and premier tournaments across multiple game ecosystems as qualification routes to EWC 2026. These include globally recognised competitions such as the Apex Legends Global Series, Capcom Cup, Chess.com Global Championship, EVO, PUBG Global Series, Rocket League Championship Series, TEKKEN World Tour Finals, Free Fire World Series, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League, Overwatch Champions Series, EA Sports FC Pro, and official esports circuits for titles including Call of Duty, League of Legends, VALORANT, Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege and Trackmania, among others.

Open online qualifiers and community-driven competitions will also play a key role, particularly for titles such as Dota 2, Teamfight Tactics, Call of Duty: Warzone and Chess. These formats are aimed at ensuring accessibility for grassroots players, allowing emerging competitors to test themselves alongside established names from official circuits.

Faisal Bin Homran, Chief Product Officer of the Esports World Cup Foundation, said the initiative brings much-needed structure to the competitive ecosystem. He noted that a defined qualification season allows players to focus on performance, clubs to plan resources in advance, publishers to align their ecosystems, and fans to clearly track the biggest competitive moments across the year.

The unified calendar will enable fans to follow the journey from regional qualifiers to the final stages in Riyadh. Throughout the season, EWCF will support the programme with a multi-channel marketing push, including match highlights, player interviews, live streams, video-on-demand content, and on-ground coverage by influencers and creators attending key events.

The Foundation pointed to the scale of last year’s competition as a marker of what lies ahead. In 2025, over 2,500 players from more than 100 countries and 200 clubs qualified through the Road to EWC pathway. The season produced landmark moments, including a 15-year-old Free Fire player becoming the youngest champion in EWC history, alongside legacy-defining wins by established stars across multiple titles.

A dedicated ‘Road to EWC’ hub has gone live on esportsworldcup.com, featuring full details of qualification events, formats, dates, locations and viewing options. Fans can also track teams and players across the entire season through the platform.

Meanwhile, the first wave of tickets for the Esports World Cup 2026 is now on sale via esportsworldcup.com and authorised international ticketing partners, including Platinumlist for India. Special travel packages are also being offered through Saudia Holidays for early purchasers.

With ‘Road to EWC’, the Esports World Cup Foundation is positioning 2026 as a truly global, interconnected esports season—one that aims to balance competitive integrity, long-term investment and sustainable growth across the industry.