Magnus Carlsen will return to the Esports World Cup (EWC) in 2026 as the reigning Chess champion, once again representing Team Liquid in the second edition of the tournament. Full participants list of the EWC Chess 2026 includes Aravindh Chithambaram, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, Pranesh M, Alexander Grischuk, Andrey Esipenko, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vladislav Artemiev, Fabiano Caruana, Hans Moke Niemann, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, Alireza Firouzja, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Parham Maghsoodloo, Sina Movahed, Denis Lazavik, Wei Yi, Benjamin Bok, Magnus Carlsen, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Alexey Sarana, Olexandr Bortnyk, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Lê Quang Liêm.
Stage 1 – Play-In, August 11:
Eight players will compete in a double-elimination bracket, with the winner securing a place in the main event.
Esports World Cup (EWC) Play-In live