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| S2G eSports raises the 2026 PUBG MOBILE World Cup trophy, celebrating its championship win at the 2026 eSports World Cup in Paris, France (Image Source: eSports World Cup) |
The curtains have been drawn on the 2026 PUBG MOBILE World Cup (PMWC) as the Grand Finals officially concluded as part of this year's eSports World Cup in Paris. After a weekend of electrifying action, Turkish team S2G eSports have claimed the crown on the third installment of one of PUBG MOBILE eSports most prestigious events. Celebrating their first global tournament victory since the 2022 PUBG MOBILE Global Championship (PMGC), the team has also secured the official trophy and the lion’s share of the $3,025,000 prize pool.
The 2026 PMWC kicked off last August 6, 2026 where 32 teams entered the preliminary Group Stage. Equally divided into Group A and Group B, teams battled over 12 matches across three days of high-octane action where S2G eSports put up a strong performance, qualifying directly to the Grand Finals stage. Teams placed 5th to 13th in both groups entered the Survival Stage for a second chance to qualify. This stage saw China’s Tianba emerge triumphant after two days of fierce competition, securing two Chicken Dinners alongside an impressive 109 points and 70 eliminations. Owing to their resilience in the Survival Stage, Tianba stormed into Match 1 of the Grand Finals with an aggressive strategy that earned them 16 eliminations but were quickly shut down by Aurora Gaming who finished second in the opening match with 17 eliminations. Nigma Galaxy took the first Chicken Dinner, setting the stage for an action-packed day of competition. With strong performances from many times, Day 1 ended with no clear sign of who would dominate the competition with eArena leading by just three points and S2G eSports sat in 9th place. Day 2 started off slow for S2G eSports who took some time to find their bearings. However, by Match 8, they were back in form, securing 25 points through a 15-elimination Chicken Dinner. They then proceeded to place second, first, and third in Matches 10, 11, and 12 respectively, climbing to 4th place by the end of the day. Though, they still faced an uphill battle heading into the final day, as eArena’s strong performance through an incredible 80 eliminations and two wins over the past two days put them in first with 112 points. With this, the SMASH Point for the final day was set at 122.
The final day was perhaps the most exciting of the weekend with heartracing performances and clutches from teams at every level of the leaderboard, especially from Tianba, GodLike eSports, and Horaa eSports who repeatedly prevented top teams from securing the title. Tianba’s very own Qzz was awarded FMVP with 35 eliminations and 6,731 damage throughout the weekend. Nonetheless, despite S2G eSports, NS RedForce, Aurora Gaming, and eArena all entering the SMASH ruleset early in the day, the decision went to the final match. S2G eSports’ hopes hung in the air as they saw themselves eliminated by GodLike with SpoweRR putting in a mindblowing show in almost singlehandedly taking out two teams. However, after an extremely close final circle, S2G eSports maintained their lead, taking the trophy with a mighty 154 points. With this result, S2G eSports have earned themselves 130 PMGC Points, securing their spot in 2026 PMGC with a total of 173 PMGC Points, collected from PUBG MOBILE Global Open (PMGO) S1 Regionals, PMGO S1, and of course the 2026 PMWC. Alongside their PUBG MOBILE eSports victory, S2G eSports will also see their Esports World Cup trophy placed permanently into the Totum, a monumental structure that records every Game Champion, and ultimate Club Champion of the eSports World Cup 2026. All other teams will see their keys crushed, with the fragments preserved and embedded into the foundation of the same Totem.
Whilst fans from around the world came to see the action unfolding live, they also had the opportunity to visit the PUBG MOBILE booth at the eSports World Cup, diving into unique activities each day of the tournament. This included pictures with Naruto and Spider-Man cosplayers, celebrating the latest PUBG MOBILE collaborations, and also a chance to play the brand new Steal A Brainrot game mode, introduced through the World of Wonder creator platform.
