The EWC 2026 in Paris carries a $75 million prize pool, and its Valorant event ended with Nongshim RedForce beating BBL Esports as Coinbase and Bitget debuted as the tournament’s first crypto sponsors.
Coinbase and Bitget have joined the sponsor roster for EWC 2026, making this the first Esports World Cup to feature crypto sponsors. The tournament in Paris carries a $75 million prize pool across all disciplines, with $2 million allocated to Valorant, and the crypto branding remained focused on broad visibility rather than token promotions or product launches. The Valorant competition wrapped up on July 12 after running from July 2 with 16 teams. Nongshim RedForce secured third place by beating BBL Esports 13-10 on Breeze, capping a playoff run that included a 2-1 semifinal-stage victory over Team Vitality on July 10. BBL Esports reached the same stage after a 2-0 win over EDward Gaming. The article says the sponsorships were enabled by newly established French regulations that allow greater cryptocurrency branding opportunities at esports events. It frames the move as a branding push rather than a direct commercial integration with teams, publishers or trading products, highlighting a new route for crypto firms to gain mainstream exposure through top-tier esports.