Defending Champion GM Magnus Carlsen said he was “in no shape to play chess,” but he still beat GMs Andrey Esipenko and Hans Niemann 1.5-0.5 to reach Friday’s Playoffs of the $1.5 million 2026 Esports World Cup. He’s joined by GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who all won two matches to advance, while the remaining 12 players will battle it out via the Lower Brackets for the final four spots. Those include GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, who thumped the table three times after a painful armageddon defeat to Niemann.
Day two of the Group Stage of the Esports World Cup starts on Thursday, August 13 at 7 a.m. ET / 13:00 CEST / 4:30 p.m. IST.
This is a flash report—come back later for full coverage of all the day’s action!
The 16 players remaining in the Esports World Cup were split into two groups of eight, who compete in double-elimination knockouts. Each match is two 10+0 games followed, if needed, by armageddon, and the format is simple—win two matches and you’re through to Friday’s Playoffs, but lose two matches and you’re out.
Esports World Cup Group A Bracket
Esports World Cup Group B Bracket
Our Game of the Day is the extraordinary finale to the grudge match between Nepomniachtchi and Niemann, which Niemann won in armageddon.
Ian Nepomniachtchi thumps the table 3 times as he loses to Hans Niemann just as he looked on the verge of escaping — it’s Niemann vs. Carlsen next! 🍿https://t.co/VnGRdOHCHu#EWC2026 pic.twitter.com/Jnqc53Uxb3
— chess24 (@chess24com) August 12, 2026
GM Rafael Leitao will analyze the game below.
How to watch?
The 2026 Esports World Cup in Paris, France, features chess for the second time, with a $1.5 million prize fund and $250,000 for first place, while chess players are also part of esports teams that share a $30 million prize fund. 16 players qualified via the Champions Chess Tour, DreamHack Atlanta, India Rising, or as defending champion (GM Magnus Carlsen), while another five qualified via the Last Chance Qualifier (August 4-6) in Paris. That event had a $50,000 prize fund, with four Swiss tournaments and a 16-player knockout. The main event (August 11-15) features a Play-In to cut the field to 16 players, then a Group Stage with two double-elimination groups to halve it again to eight. Those players then compete in the Playoffs, a single-elimination knockout for the title. The time control for all games is 10 minutes, with no increment.
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