T1’s 2-0 win over GAM sent the League of Legends team into the playoffs as Coinbase Predictions drew trading interest around the match at the $75 million Paris event.
Coinbase and Bitget are serving as the first official crypto sponsors of the 2026 Esports World Cup in Paris, where T1 advanced to the League of Legends playoffs with a 2-0 win over GAM Esports on July 15. The tournament, which opened July 6 and runs through Aug. 23, carries a record $75 million prize pool and is the first Esports World Cup to feature cryptocurrency sponsors, enabled by France’s digital asset advertising rules under the AMF and the EU’s MiCA framework. Coinbase has also linked its presence to its prediction market platform, where trading volume built ahead of the T1-GAM matchup and large positions favored the Korean team. Of the total prize money, $30 million is allocated to the Club Championship and $20 million to a Club Partner Program supporting 40 participating organizations, including T1 and GAM. The setup shows how crypto firms are using regulated sponsorships and market-based products to reach esports audiences as prediction markets expand beyond politics into sports and gaming.