EA SPORTS and the organizers of the Esports World Cup are revamping the World Cup in FC 26—partly because Saudi Arabia is getting two more spots. The play-ins will also be made a little more attractive.
As with the soccer World Cup, the field of participants in the FC Pro World Championship 2026 will be expanded, albeit more moderately. Instead of going from 32 to 48, the virtual turf will “only” see an increase to 36. This will nevertheless have a significant impact on the tournament format.
The group stage played last year will be replaced by a league stage in the style of the Champions League. Each eSports player will play six matches, after which an overall table will be created. The best 24 players will advance to the playoffs, which will be held in a knockout format.
Places 1 to 8 advance directly to the round of 16, while places 9 to 24 must survive an intermediate round, as in the premier class. The final round will be held from July 22 to 26 as part of the Esports World Cup in Riyadh – two weeks earlier than in 2025.
Two extra tickets via play-ins
The four extra places in the field of participants result from two additional tickets via the play-ins. On the other hand, the Esports Saudi Pro League has still received two direct spots. In the original distribution, the host country’s league was not taken into account.
The play-ins will be played on July 12. From a German perspective, Jonas Wirth has already qualified for these after completing the FC Pro Open Cups. Levy Finn Rieck and Berkay Demirci are hoping for replacement spots. Umut Gültekin and Nassim Dahman have already secured their World Cup tickets.
If both direct qualification for the World Cup and the play-ins are missed, the last-chance qualifier remains, as in 2025. It will take place from July 9 to 11.
A total of $1.5 million in prize money will be awarded as part of the FC Pro World Championship 2026.
One million of this will go to the final round, and $500,000 to the play-ins and last-chance qualifier. The defending champion is Manuel Bachoore from the Netherlands.