Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin, representing S8UL Esports, has officially qualified for the Chess main event at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 through the Champions Chess Tour (CCT) 2025-2026 Leaderboard.
He joins teammate Aravindh Chithambaram as the two Indians to qualify for the tournament so far.
The CCT 2025-2026 season featured two major events, the Speed Chess Championship (SCC) 2025 and Chess.com Open (CCO) 2026. The top three players from both tournaments secured direct qualification to the EWC, while players finishing between fifth and ninth in SCC, along with the remaining participants in CCO, earned points toward the CCT Leaderboard based on their performances.
In addition to these events, players also accumulated points through the Titled Tuesday Grand Prix (TTGP) circuit, which was divided into Autumn, Winter, and Spring splits featuring 13 Titled Tuesday tournaments each.
Sarin narrowly missed out on direct qualification through the CCO after finishing fourth, just one spot away from qualification, but still secured 100 crucial leaderboard points from the event. He further added points through consistent performances across the TTGP circuit, including one point in the Autumn Split and four points in the Winter Split.
A standout second-place finish in the Spring Split ultimately helped him accumulate 34 points and finish with a total of 139 points in the standings to secure his berth at the EWC 2026.
“I’m happy that the hard work paid off. Last year’s experience at the EWC gave me a real understanding of how competitive and intense the event is, and it has only motivated me to come back stronger this time,” Sarin said.
Last year, Sarin was one of only two Indians representing the country at the EWC 2025 after qualifying through the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ). He went on to reach the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Magnus Carlsen.
Chess in this year’s EWC will feature a prize pool of USD 1.5 million (~INR 14.3 crore) and will be played from August 11 to 15. It will take place in a revised two-phase format — in the Play-In stage, eight players qualified through the LCQ and DreamHack Atlanta will compete in a double-elimination bracket featuring two-game matches.
Aravindh, who secured qualification through DreamHack Atlanta earlier this year, will compete in this stage. The top-performing players from the Play-In stage will advance to the Group Stage.
Sarin, meanwhile, has directly qualified for the Group Stage through the CCT rankings. The Group Stage will feature 16 players divided into two groups of eight, once again competing in double-elimination brackets with two-game matches. The top four players from each group will advance to the Playoffs.
The EWC 2026, set to take place from July 6 to August 23 in Paris, France, will bring together over 2,000 players from 200 clubs across more than 100 countries competing for a record-breaking prize pool of USD 75 million (approximately INR 718 crore).
Published on May 27, 2026