Honor of Kings World Cup 2026 will see 20 of the best Honor of Kings and Arena of Valor teams in a cross-title tourney.
The Honor of Kings World Cup at the 2026 Esports World Cup will see more international representation as it mixes teams from both Arena of Valor and Honor of Kings.
Honor of Kings, Arena of Valor share KWC26 stage
This year’s KWC will feature a cross-title format that sees the best Honor of Kings (HoK) and Arena of Valor (AoV) teams across the world. They will compete for a $3,000,000 prize pool as part of the 2026 Esports World Cup.
KWC26 teams and format
The tournament will have 20 teams clashing across its three-stage format from July 30 to Aug. 8.
- King Pro League Spring 2026 (KPL) – 2 teams
- Indonesia Kings Laga Spring 2026 (IKL) – 3 teams
- Philippine Kings League Spring 2026 (PKL) – 3 teams
- MY Honor of Kings League Spring 2026 (MKL) – 3 teams
- Honor of Kings Brazil Championship Fall 2026 (CHOKBR) – 2 teams
- Honor of Kings Major League Spring 2026 (KML) – 2 teams
- King’s Arise India: KWC at EWC26 Qualifier – 2 teams
- RoV Pro League 2026 Summer (RPL) -1invited team
- Arena of Glory Spring 2026 (AOG) – 1 invited team
- Garena Challenger Series Spring 2026 (GCS) – 1 invited team
Honor of Kings recently launched in India just this month, and this qualifier is one of the first professional tournaments in that region. Meanwhile, the RPL, AOG, and GCS will send one Arena of Valor team each to KWC.
The competition begins in the play-in stage, involving eight teams in two groups of four. This stage has best-of-three matches on a double-elimination bracket. The top two teams of each group advance to the group stage, while the bottom two are eliminated.
Group Stage will have the 16 remaining teams and divide them into four groups of four teams. This will work similarly to the play-in stage: best-of-3s on a double-elimination bracket, with the top two from each group advancing to the playoffs.
Playoffs place the top eight teams on a best-of-seven, single-elimination bracket. Only the third-place match will be a best-of-five, and the rest of the playoffs will have Ultimate Battle mechanics active should the series reach the 7th game.
“Building on a milestone 2025, when the combined MAU of the HoK titles surpassed 260 million, KWC at EWC26 will deliver a thrilling cross-title MOBA experience on the global stage. Top teams from across the leagues will compete, offering players a unique opportunity to shine in an epic cross-title MOBA showdown and demonstrate their skill, strategy, and teamwork on an unprecedented international stage,” said the HoK Esports team via a press release.