The Equal Esports Cup is back. In 2026, this inclusive LoL tournament enters its fourth round and is once again searching for its legends. Who will claim the throne?
The Equal Esports Cup 2026, the largest LoL tournament for women and non-binary players, is entering its fourth round. The competition aims to provide a platform for visibility and development within a diverse esports scene. Together with SK Gaming, Riot Games, and the esports player foundation (epf), Deutsche Telekom is continuing the tournament series and aims to foster a sustainable environment for talent and teams.
“The Equal Esports Cup is an important component of our initiative: It gives talent a stage and offers them better long-term structures,” says Antje Hundhausen, Vice President of Brand Experience at Deutsche Telekom, regarding the goals of the organizers—who have come up with a new feature for 2026: the Lucky Loser round. In this round, the third- and fourth-place finishers from both groups face off once again and can still qualify for the playoffs.
G2 and Co. await challengers
As usual, the lineup is star-studded. With SK Gaming, Team Vitality, defending champions G2 Esports, and Mental Rush, the first four participants in the group stage were already confirmed before the first qualifiers. In addition, two qualifiers—Eterna and Eclipse—have also been determined. The teams prevailed in the preliminary rounds in May, securing their tickets to the group stage. Two more qualifiers will follow on June 6 and 7.
The group stage kicks off a month later on July 7, followed by the lucky loser round on July 15, and the playoffs from July 28 to August 16. There will also be some prize money up for grabs. A total of 10,000 euros will be awarded, distributed among the top four teams as follows: The winning team receives 5,000 euros, second place is worth 2,500 euros. Third place gets 1,750 euros, and the fourth-place finisher receives 750 euros.
Who will take home the trophy in Cologne?
But a strong performance isn’t just financially rewarding. The two finalists can also look forward to a real highlight in terms of atmosphere. After all, the competition’s Grand Final will once again take place at gamescom. On August 29, the fourth edition of the Equal Esports Cup will culminate there in the title-deciding match.
Interested viewers can not only attend the final but also watch the entire tournament live: All matches of the season will be streamed on the Twitch channel ‘equalEsportsgg’. Additionally, co-streams from ‘EUniverse_TV’ and ‘KatarsisEsp’ are planned.
