EWC 2026 Group B: Where the stars need to align

For a couple of teams seeded in Group B, the Esports World Cup 2026 represents a huge jump from tier 3 tournaments to a $2,000,000 LAN. Props to L1ga Team and Level UP players for living up to their organisations’ names and qualifying for this event, but this is going to be a painful and unforgettable first glimpse of what pinnacle tournaments look like.

By all metrics, and common sense, both should land at the bottom of the group and have their trip to Paris cut short . A pity, if you think that neither of these two teams qualified for The International this year and they will have to wait for the next competitive season to put into practice what they might learn at EWC 2026.

Who can use this event to the maximum and polish their strategies for TI are PTime, also known as PlayTime, formerly South America Rejects, formerly paiN Gaming.

A season of survival

It’s been a true rollercoaster of a season for PTime players. They went through all nine circles of hell this year by starting strong with paiN Gaming returning to Dota to sign them, only for the org to leave the scene once again just two months later. The roster, however, stood strong, powered through all obstacles, and the end of the season finds them with a ticket to Paris, France, for EWC, a ticket to Shanghai, China, for TI15, while they are also one series away from qualifying for Esports Nations Cup 2026, which has a nearly 2 million dollars’ prize pool as well.

Despite all this, it’s hard to place them as group favourites at EWC. The favourites, by all means, are Team Liquid and Aurora, the two most likely to fight neck and neck for the top spot, which will grant a straight pass to the playoffs.

The ones who might mess up Aurora and Liquid’s plans are Nigma Galaxy.

The King is back

As weird as it sounds, after a season with more losses than any fan can bear, Nigma seem to be truly revitalised since the King, SumaiL Hassan, returned to the team and took the carry role. Fun fact: Nigma did not qualify for EWC with SumaiL. He came just after the qualifiers were over, about a month ago and played with the team in European qualifiers for TI 2026, claiming a ticket to Shanghai. Those are the only matches that can give an insight into Nigma’s current form.

There are multiple reasons why Nigma seem better than before, just as we head into the two biggest tournaments of the year. The most obvious one is the change of drafts and playstyle with SumaiL in the carry position. Through the TI qualifiers, he brought all sorts of unconventional heroes for the role, with Drow Ranger, Spectre, and Shadow Fiend as his only three true carry heroes.

Remains to be confirmed at EWC if Nigma truly found something special with SumaiL playing carry Magnus, for instance, or if it was just a gimmick to allow the King to get comfortable in the new role. Either way, the surprise potential in their drafts now is bigger than the times when you would also have had to guess what role Miracle- played from one game to another.

If they don’t overcook their drafts and don’t play too much musical chairs with the player roles in Paris, we might finally see the stars align for Nigma, and what a story that would be!

Esports World Cup 2026 is set to kick off next week, on the 7th of July, with the round-robin group stage. Four groups, 24 teams chasing the same goal. Make it to the playoffs. Only the top team of each group will secure that precious playoff spot. Second to fourth-placed teams in each group will go to Survival rounds, while the bottom two teams from each group will be eliminated.

The spectacle is just about to start. So, get rdy with us and enjoy the show!