Week 5 of the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 delivered a historic milestone for Indian esports, as Orangutan and GodLike Esports became the first-ever Indian teams to qualify for the PUBG Mobile World Cup (PMWC) Grand Finals.
EWC 2026 Week 5 Recap
Elsewhere, Kuaishou Gaming claimed the Honor of Kings World Cup, AG.AL’s M. Zubair completed a remarkable TEKKEN 8 run from the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) to become the first recipient of the Jafonso Award at EWC 2026, while OpTic Gaming secured back-to-back EWC titles in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. The week also saw a major, and somewhat unexpected, change at the top of the Club Championship that could have massive ramifications for the closing weeks.
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Godlike and Orangutan Qualify For PMWC 2026 Grand Finals
The PMWC group stage saw Orangutan and GodLike Esports both securing their places in the Grand Finals after finishing among the top five in their respective groups. The 32-team field was divided into two groups of 16, with each team playing 12 matches.
Orangutan finished second in Group A with 91 points, just 16 behind group leaders 4Thrives, while GodLike Esports finished third in Group B with 105 points and 73 finishes, the second-highest tally in their group. The Grand Finals will now take place from August 14 to 16, with the two Indian teams now set to compete for the PMWC title and a share of the $ 3 million (~INR 28.5 crore) prize pool.
In the Honor of Kings World Cup, Kuaishou Gaming arrived as the challengers to the throne and left as kings. In what was one of the closest finals of the weekend, Kuaishou Gaming took down reigning EWC champions AG.AL in a thrilling 4-3 series victory to claim the trophy.
A clean 12-0 run through the group stage and playoffs set Kuaishou Gaming up for the Grand Final, where they faced their toughest test. Despite trailing early in the series, AG AL fought back to take a 3-2 lead and match point. But Kuaishou Gaming held their nerve, winning the Grand Final in the final two games and took home a $600,000 (~INR 5.7 crore) share of the prize pool. He “JuHao” Weijia was named as the SONY MVP for his performance throughout the tournament, earning an extra $25,000 (~INR 23.8 lakh).
“I have so much inside of me I want to say, because back in the time when we were in China, in the KPL, we were facing so many obstacles and ups and downs,” said JuHao, following Kuaishou Gaming’s win. “We kinda lost our confidence and faith in us, and I believe this title will be one motivation for us to fight harder. I believe we’ve got the best team, best players, best coaches. Thank you so much for having us here in Paris.”
In what was the highlight of the week, TEKKEN 8 crowned its most unlikely champion yet, and the first Jafonso Award of EWC 2026, which is awarded to players who win an event after qualifying through the LCQ. Khawaja “M. Zubair” Muhammad Zubair, the latest recipient of the award, battled through the gruelling LCQ and took down big names on his route to the TEKKEN 8 at EWC 2026 title.
During his run, AG AL player M. Zubair beat the legendary Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique twice, once in the Group Stage and again in the semifinals. After defeating Arslan Ash in the semifinals, M. Zubair beat out Yoon “LowHigh” Sun-woong in the Grand Final with a decisive 5-0 sweep. M. Zubair walks away with a $250,000 (~INR 2.3 crore) share of the prize pool, an additional $50,000 (~INR47.6 lakh) for the Jafonso Award, and 1,000 influential Club Championship points on behalf of his Club, AG AL.
Speaking on how he managed the 5-0 triumph, M.Zubair said, “I worked really hard, and I had full faith that I can win this. And with my dedication, and my practice, I think I was able to achieve this.”
Rounding off the week, OpTic Gaming were crowned back-to-back EWC champions after victory in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. OpTic took the Grand Final win 5-3 against Team Heretics with the Green Wall firmly behind them in the stc Arena and walked away with a huge $600,000 share of the prize pool.
The SONY MVP award went to Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro for the second time in a row for his performance throughout the tournament. He managed to claim a huge 655 eliminations throughout the competition, and earned an extra $25,000 for his contribution.
Asked on who he thanks for his MVP award, Shotzzy said, “Definitely my teammates. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here. Shoutout to the fans that showed up, we appreciate you guys. Shoutout Green Wall.”
In Rainbow Six Siege, the Group Stage is done, and the final eight are set, leaving the final eight sides to battle it out in the playoffs. Play-in sides Fnatic and CAG by VARREL both lost out, despite strong performances. EWC 2025 winners Team Secret made it through with a 2-0 victory against Team Falcons, a shocking victory considering the defending champions entered EWC with a very different roster and could only manage a single victory in their local regional competition before heading to Paris. Falcons on the other hand, were considered title contenders, but are now out of the competition with no Club Championship points to their name.
The Club Championship has a new leader after a thrilling weekend of action. Team Falcons went into the weekend on top, but a fourth place in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and just 200 points in TEKKEN 8 were not enough to hold off AG.AL from taking the lead. AG.AL had a strong weekend, securing second in Honor of Kings and first place in TEKKEN 8. This moved AG.AL to the top of the table, with 3,350 points, giving them a 450-point lead on Team Falcons’ 2,900 points.
Despite not playing, Natus Vincere have remained in the top three, though their 2,250 points have left them adrift of Team Falcons. Team Vitality and Virtus.pro are locked together on 2,200 points in joint fourth.
