Five grandmasters fought through a grueling three-day Last Chance Qualifier in Paris to claim the final spots in the $1.5 million 2026 Esports World Cup.
Vladislav Artemiev, Parham Maghsoodloo, Wei Yi, Oleksandr Bortnyk, and Alexander Grischuk secured their invitations after battling it out against a competitive field. The qualifier was the last opportunity for players outside the main draw to earn their place in the prestigious event.
This wasn't a casual tournament. A $1.5 million prize fund attracts the world's strongest online players, and these five proved they belonged among them. Grischuk and Artemiev bring serious classical pedigree to the online arena. Maghsoodloo has emerged as one of the most dangerous attacking players in the game. Wei Yi represents the Chinese dominance in online chess. Bortnyk rounds out the group with his rapid and blitz prowess.
The qualification format worked exactly as intended. It filtered out the pretenders and identified players capable of competing at the highest level over the three-day grind. Now these five join the pre-qualified field for a tournament that will determine who claims the year's richest online prize.
The 2026 Esports World Cup just became more competitive. These qualifiers don't show up unprepared.