One race decided seven weeks
Team Falcons went out in the Trackmania quarter-finals. That single result opened the door, and AG.AL walked through it.
All the French organisation needed at that point was a podium. Gwendal “Gwen” Duparc won the whole thing instead, and AG.AL took the Club Championship at the 2026 Esports World Cup along with the $7 million that comes with it. Seven weeks of competition in Paris ended on Sunday.
Falcons had arrived at the run-in hunting a third consecutive title. They leave with second place.
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38th, then sixth, then first
AG.AL closed on 5,300 points. Rewind two years and they finished 38th in the team standings at the inaugural 2024 edition. Last year, sixth. This year, the lot.
Trackmania was not the only lever. They won Tekken 8 outright, placed second in Chess, Free Fire and Honor of Kings: World, and third in Teamfight Tactics. In a format built on breadth rather than a single killer roster, that spread is what actually wins championships.
Falcons settled for 4,600 points and $5 million. Team Vitality finished third on 3,300 points and $4 million, ahead of Natus Vincere with 2,950 points and $3 million, and Team Liquid on 2,700 points and $2 million.
Paris was a gamble that paid
This was the first edition staged outside Saudi Arabia, following two years in Riyadh. More than 2,000 players, 200 clubs, roughly 100 countries, 25 tournaments across 24 games, and a record $75 million prize pool.
The viewership numbers released Sunday backed the move: 850 million viewers and 440 million hours watched online, up 13 percent and 26 percent on 2025. Ticket sales hit 175,000, close to double last year’s figure.
Next summer the whole thing goes back to Riyadh.
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