100 Thieves wins first international esports title at EWC26
13 July 2026
As we write this article, the Esports World Cup 2026 is in full swing. From July 2 to August 23, hundreds of esports teams and organizations from around the world are in Paris (France) to compete in 20+ titles for worldwide glory and a piece of the considerable prize pools.
Against that backdrop, US-based organization 100 Thieves have managed to win their first ever major international sports title. In the Esports World Cup 2026 VALORANT event, they managed to beat fellow American organization NRG Esports in the Grand Final. Besides the coveted 1.000 Club Championship points, this victory also earned 100 Thieves no less than $ 600.000 in prize money.
Underdogs on top
With the likes of Team Vitality and NRG Esports all invited to the Esports World Cup 2026 VALORANT event, 100 Thieves definitely did not come to Paris as favorites. As matter of fact, they were one of the teams who had to qualify for the tournament and they did so as part of the American Qualifiers. That status did not seem to affect them one bit though, as they showed remarkable form from the get-go in the Group Stage. They finished top of Group A after beating both Rex Regum Qeon (from Indonesia, 0-2) and Turkey-based BBL Esports (2-1).
Like that, 100 Thieves qualified for the Playoffs in style, where MIBR (Made in Brazil) LOS from Brazil were their first opponents. The Americans got off to a roaring start, taking Fracture 13-2 before losing Breeze in a tightly contested battle (10-13). For the third and final map, Haven, 100 Thieves showed what they had shown at the start of the match and during the whole Group Stage. A 13-5 victory was sufficient for them to advance to the Semifinals.
Semifinal comeback
The Semifinal against South Korean NS Redforce got off to a similar start for 100 Thieves. The Americans were much too strong on Sunset (13-6) before going down with almost identical numbers on Lotus (7-13). Like in the Quarterfinal, it all came down to a third and final map (Haven), but unlike that same Quarterfinal, it was no easy finish for 100 Thieves. Instead, they had to go down to the wire, eventually overcoming NS RedForce with a minimal difference (13-11). A hard-fought victory and one that prepared them for the gigantic challenge waiting for them in the Grand Final.
EWC26 success for 100 Thieves
The Grand Final of the Esports World Cup 2026 VALORANT tournament was between two American organizations: 100 Thieves and NRG Esports. In their entire history, the former only managed to win a single map against the latter, up to that point, with NRG winning eight maps. But those numbers were about to improve dramatically for the underdogs as they swept the first two maps of the Grand Final with relative ease: 13-7 on Breeze and 13-6 on Sunset. NRG then fought back, winning Haven 2-13, but it ended up being an exception. 100 Thieves did not panic and their composure resulted in victory on the fourth map (Ascent, 14-12). As a result, they crowned themselves EWC26 VALORANT champions, claiming their first-ever major international esports title, plus 1.000 Club Championship points and $ 600.000 worth of prize money.