Vici Gaming's surprising win and South American's hopes wither at EWC 2026

Everything was reaching its peak at the Esports World Cup 2026, as the Survival Stage came to an end today. Another four teams were eliminated, but, more importantly, four teams made their way into the playoffs, ready to challenge for the title. We had already seen some major upsets in the first half of the day, and the second half was primed for more.

With some drama surrounding the teams already out of the way, the path forward was open, but unfortunately not for every team.

Vici Gaming shock 1w Team

Vici Gaming’s path into the second round of the Survival Stage was an odd one, with PTime having to forfeit their series – which resulted in their elimination from the tournament. However, going up against 1w Team would give us a fantastic series, as both teams played knowing that it could be their last series at the EWC 2026. 1w dominated the first game, it was VG that came out swinging in the next to lead us to a third and decisive final game.

It was a fairly even early game period, but once VG began to find their footing, 1w were left in their dust. Between Guo “Xm” Hongcheng’s Zues and Guo “shiro” Xuanang’s Tiny, the Chinese team blew through one of the tournament favourites, taking a huge 2-1 victory, and eliminating 1w from the event. Now VG will look to the playoffs, where they will face Team Falcons in the quarterfinals.

The last South American hope falls

In the other series, it was BetBoom Team taking on LGD Gaming, with the South Americans now being the final team from their region in the tournament, after PTime’s elimination. It was a clinical showing in Game 1, with Danil “gpk” Skutin’s Lina being unkillable and claiming 18 kills.

Unfortunately for LGD, without even a glimmer of hope, they were no match for BB Team’s lineup. Only managing to get seven kills in Game 2, LGD were given no chance and were eliminated from the tournament. For BB Team, their journey continues into the playoffs, where they will face Nigma Galaxy in their next series.

Now that Survival Stage is complete, the playoffs are set. Every single series takes the winning team one step closer to becoming champions of EWC 2026, while a loss will mean elimination.