India, July 13 -- Three champions followed three sharply different paths during the opening week of the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris. DarkAngel ended a run of near misses, UNLIMIT recovered from a poor start, and 100 Thieves completed an unbeaten VALORANT campaign.

The results also established the first markers in the wider Club Championship race, where performance across multiple games matters as much as winning a single trophy.

NAVI player Luis Guadalupe "DarkAngel" Castillo Gomez won the first trophy of the tournament in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. DarkAngel defeated Virtus.pro's Kenta "mi2ha4" Ichihara 4-1 in the grand final. The result gave him his first major title in the game after several close finishes, including third p...