Nihal Sarin and Arjun Erigaisi enter EWC Chess 2026 Playoffs

by Devansh Singh - 14/08/2026

After the dust settles in the Group Stage, the final 8 players are confirmed for the Playoffs at the Esports World Cup 2026. Nihal Sarin of S8UL and Arjun Erigaisi of GenG Esports are qualified for the playoffs. Nihal Sarin is going to face Magnus Carlsen in the quarterfinals, while Arjun will face Hikaru Nakamura. The other 4 players who qualified are Alireza Firouzja, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hans Niemann, and Denis Lazavik. The next two days are going to be very exciting in Paris! Photos: EWC

The Stage is Set

The stage is set for the playoffs of the eSports World Cup 2026! The 8 players who have qualified for the Top 8 are

From the Upper Bracket

After the first day of the group stage at the Esports World Cup in Paris, 4 players have already booked their spot in the playoffs.

Magnus Carlsen (Team Liquid)
Hikaru Nakamura (Falcons Esports)
Alireza Firouzja (Falcons Esports)
Nodirbek Abdusattorov (NAVI)

From Lower Bracket

Nihal Sarin (S8UL)
Arjun Erigaisi ( GenG Esports)
Hans Niemann ( Godlike eSports)
Denis Lazavik ( AG Global)

Check out the Pairings

It's Magnus vs. Nihal

Magnus chose Nihal as his opponent

After the group stage, when all 8 playoff spots were decided, it was time to determine the pairings.

Alireza will go against Hans Niemann of Godlike

Arjun is set to battle against Hikaru Nakamura

India #1 Arjun Erigaisi scores a dominating 2-0 match win over his countrymate Pranesh M of S8UL, taking him and his team GenG Esports to the playoffs of eSports World Cup 2026!

Nodirbek Abdusattorov vs, Denis Lazavik

Check out what happened in Group Stage

Nihal started the lower bracket with a win over Wei Yi

Huge win for the S8UL Superstar Nihal Sarin - he takes down Jan-Krzysztof Duda 1.5-0.5 in their match and moves to the EWC playoffs!

Nepo eliminated Andrey Esipenko from EWC in their 1st lower bracket match

Heartbreak for Esipenko

Magnus was already qualified from the upper bracket as he defeated Esipenko and Hans

S8UL star Nihal shines in the lower bracket and defeated Wei Yi and Duda

Alireza was already qualified from the upper bracket

Duda came very close to qualification, but Nihal was on his way to stop him

Hikaru was another player who qualified from the upper bracket

Nodirbek Abdusattorov is going to face Denis Lazavik

It was a great day for Arjun in the lower bracket as he defeated Pranesh to make his way to the playoffs

Happy Faces as they had a rest day today

The Evil Smile??

Hans defeated Sina Movahed to qualify for the final 8

Check out the thrilling final moments of the game between Hans Niemann and Sina Movahed - the deciding game for the EWC playoffs spot! Watch the full video to see a completely insane finish.

Denis Lazavik was the last one to qualify after defeating Nepo

Champ!

Replay Group Stage Games

Video Gallery: Here

Live Stream

Follow all the action live with Sagar Shah, Amruta Mokal, and our amazing panel of commentators and presenters!

Event Overview & Dates

Chess at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 takes place from August 11 to 15, 2026. Following its inaugural edition in Riyadh, the EWC event relocated to France for 2026, hosting the chess action at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. The tournament features 22 top international players competing for a total prize purse of $1,500,000 USD, with $250,000 reserved for the ultimate champion.

Paris Expo Porte de Versailles

Time Control & Playing Environment

Unlike traditional over-the-board events, all games are played digitally on computers on-site using a fast-paced time control of 10 minutes per player with zero increment. The absence of an increment forces severe time scrambles, rapid flag battles, and precise pre-moving, giving the event a distinctly dynamic esports intensity. In case of tied standard sets, matches are resolved via an Armageddon tiebreaker game.

Playing Hall

Tournament Structure & Stages

The competition is split into three main phases: Play-Ins, Group Stage, and Playoffs. It kicks off on August 11 with an 8-player double-elimination Play-In bracket, where the top two survivors join 14 direct qualifiers in the main field. From August 12 to 13, the 16 remaining players are divided into two groups of eight, battling through a double-elimination format to determine the top eight overall. Finally, on August 14 and 15, the top eight compete in a single-elimination knockout bracket (quarterfinals, semifinals, and grand finals) to crown the EWC champion.

Player Field & Notable Absences

Defending champion Magnus Carlsen returns to retain his title. Joining him in the stacked main field are elite grandmasters including Hikaru Nakamura, India's Arjun Erigaisi, Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Notably, due to a scheduling conflict with the Grand Chess Tour, several prominent stars, including Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Levon Aronian, Wesley So, Anish Giri, and Vincent Keymer, are absent from this year's lineup.

Club Championship Context

Beyond individual glory, the event carries significant weight for esports organizations representing their players. Points earned in the chess tournament contribute directly to the $30,000,000 EWC Club Championship leaderboard, where multi-gaming esports clubs compete across all featured titles for the title of ultimate esports organization.

Important Links

EWC Chess: Official Site, Tickets, Schedule, Results and Standings

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