Overview
- The Esports World Cup runs July 6–August 23 in Paris with a combined $75 million prize pool and a $20 million Club Partner Program that funds 40 clubs.
- Coinbase and Bitget signed on as the EWC’s inaugural crypto sponsors and Coinbase has deployed Coinbase Predictions inside the event, drawing heavy volume on the T1 versus GAM market.
- T1 swept GAM Esports 2–0 on July 15 to reach the League of Legends playoffs while Team Spirit beat Team Liquid 2–1 on July 14 to advance in the Dota 2 bracket.
- The Esports Integrity Commission issued provisional suspensions for PlayTime players Juan “Vintage” Angulo and Gonzalo “DarkMago” Herrera and removed PlayTime from the Dota competition, producing a forfeit that changed the survival-stage draw.
- The Paris edition is a live experiment in regulated crypto marketing and fan products and it also shows that firm integrity enforcement can immediately reshape competitive outcomes and sponsorship risk for teams and partners.