Esports World Cup opens its qualifier program for 2027

Esports World Cup (EWC) announced the 2027 EWC Qualifier Program on October 21, 2026. The program, part of Road to EWC, allows tournament organizers and local esports communities to run official qualifying competitions.

The program includes two new routes: Direct Qualifiers and Satellite Last Chance Qualifiers (SLCQ). The goal is to reach 1.8 million players across more than 400 events in 2027. SLCQ will initially open for Chess, Counter Strike 2, FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves and Street Fighter 6. New games will be announced later.

Faisal Bin Homran, Product Director at the Esports Foundation, said there are strong tournaments and communities all over the world. He noted that as more organizations join Road to EWC, players will have a chance to compete in their own regions.

The Last Chance Qualifier route has already proven to work. João "jafonsogv" Vasconcelos came through this route at EWC 2024 and won the EA SPORTS FC tournament. The foundation also created the Jafonso Award, given to players or clubs that join through an LCQ and become champions.

Applications are open on the official EWC website and will close on December 20, 2026. Approved events must be completed by June 1, 2027. The 2026 edition was held in Paris and was the largest in history, with a prize pool of 75 million dollars. The tournament will return to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in 2027.