PlayTime implicated in match-fixing, Rune Eaters surprised everyone, results of the first day of the Survival stage of EWC
The first day of the Survival bracket at Esports World Cup 2026 has come to an end. Virtus.pro, Xtreme Gaming and MOUZ left the tournament, and the match between Vici Gaming and PlayTime was postponed to tomorrow because a problem with fair play compliance was discovered.
On the first map Xtreme Gaming — Team Liquid there was a real rollercoaster: Xtreme Gaming first gave up the advantage, allowed a comeback, but then turned the game around and closed the map themselves. The second map lasted 93 minutes — due to Alchemist, Team Liquid had a gold lead for almost the entire game, but Xtreme Gaming held on admirably as the underdogs and barely left their base for the last 20 minutes. At the 92nd minute, Team Liquid finally grouped up and went for the exposed Throne: after using Fortification, Xtreme Gaming's base fell. The third map was completely dominated by Team Liquid.
The main sensation of the day was the victory of Rune Eaters over Virtus.pro. The first map was completely in the hands of the "Bears", as was the start of the second, but a series of misplays led to a comeback by Rune Eaters and a rampage from Copy. The third map turned into a stomp from Rune Eaters.
The series MOUZ— LGD Gaming ended with a score of 2-0 in favor of LGD Gaming. In the first game, LGD Gaming destroyed their opponent in 35 minutes, and in the second, MOUZ picked signature heroes and secured an excellent start, but after losing the initiative the opponents made a comeback and regained the advantage. For the remainder of the game, LGD Gaming kept MOUZ pinned on the map until the Throne fell.
The match PlayTime — Vici Gaming was postponed to July 15, 14:00, due to fair play compliance issues and investigations by Esports World Cup 2026 regarding these teams.
Esports World Cup 2026 takes place from July 7 to 19 in an online format in Paris with a prize pool of 2 million dollars. Follow all the latest news in our Telegram channel.