Esports World Cup 2026: What to expect from the PUBG: Battlegrounds tournament

While there are a few interesting events occurring at the Esports World Cup over the course of this week, the undoubted biggest tournament on offer is the PUBG: Battlegrounds event. This will bring together 24 of the best teams from around the world and see them compete in a six-day-long event where $2 million is on the line.

The event will be split into two parts spanning a three-day Group Stage between July 21-23 and then a three-day Finals period between July 24-26. With this in mind, you may be curious about the format and what to expect from each of these two phases of play?

The Grand Finals will see 16 teams competing in 18 individual matches across the three days, but as per the attending teams, we'll only know this information following the Group Stage. What is confirmed is that while the 24 teams have been split into three groups, the squads who qualify for the Finals are determined by overall standings, meaning there could be more eliminated teams from Group C than A, as an example. We'll have a complete list of knocked out and qualified teams come July 24 ahead of the Finals commencing.

As for today's fixtures (July 21), we'll be seeing Groups A and B in action, battling it out across six matches. Teams will earn points on an individual basis, meaning their own performance will determine if they advance or not, regardless of the group-versus-group setup.

In terms of the various teams and groups, head over here to read more.