PARIS, JUL 13 (PTI): Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves kicked off the championship proceedings followed by an epic Apex Legends final before VALORANT closed out the week with an incredible all-American clash here.
The first trophy of EWC 2026 went to Luis Guadalupe “DarkAngel” Castillo Gomez who claimed a memorable victory in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, finally lifting his first major trophy in the game after multiple close calls.
DarkAngel, placed third at EWC last year, was behind two EWC champions, Goichi “GO1” Kishida and Zeng “Xiao Hai” Zhuojun. However, this year the former withdrew from the competition due to health issues, while the latter was knocked out before the top 16, opening the door for DarkAngel to seize his opportunity.
He took down Virtus.Pro’s Kenta “mi2ha4” Ichihara 4-1 in the grand final, and was immediately overcome with emotion having achieved his dream of lifting a trophy. He then became the first player to have his name engraved on the EWC Totem, officially kicking off the 2026 championship race.
In Apex Legends, Japanese squad UNLIMIT consisting of Yulariman, Xtsuvi, and Peace, pulled off an incredible heist in the match point finals at the ALGS Year 6 Split 1 Playoffs at 2026 EWC. In the first six games of the final they failed to place above ninth in any match, and were essentially seen as out of contention once other teams started to hit match point.
However, across the final four games, UNLIMIT won three of them, extending the tournament and denying others a shot at the championship. In the dying moments of game 10, they faced off against ZETA DIVISION, another team on match point, with the winner guaranteed to lift the trophy. In the end it was Peace who took down the final ZETA DIVISION players to claim the victory.
Peace was awarded the Sony MVP award for his performance across the tournament. He racked up 39 finishes, 35 assists, and 50 knockouts throughout his journey. Closing out the opening week, 100 Thieves took the win in VALORANT at EWC 2026, marking the first time the club has lifted an international trophy in the game.
For veteran Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk, who has been with the club since he was 17, this moment was a payoff for over five years of grinding as part of the 100 Thieves team. 100 Thieves were undefeated in the competition, taking down the likes of Rex Regum Queon, BBL Esports, MIBR.LOS and Nongshim RedForce. In the final, they defeated local rivals and reigning world champions NRG 3-1, securing the decisive round in overtime.
While three champions have already been crowned, the action continues in Dota 2. The battle for the Club Championship has also begun. Clubs must finish in the top eight of at least two titles to qualify for the Club Championship standings, and after week 1 only a single club has met that requirement. Hometown favourites Team Vitality are the only club officially on the Club Championship table with top five finishes in both VALORANT and Fatal Fury.
