SpikeReport
Latest
trexx and Kicks Debuted for Liquid. Their IGL Wasn't Even There.Wolves Rebuilt the Roster. Week 2 Undid the Good Week.Wolves Rebuilt the Roster. Week 1 Showed Both Sides of It.100 Thieves Are One Map Away From an Esports World Cup TitleVitality Put Up Better Numbers and Still LostThe Defending Champs Are Out, and the Coaching Gap Finally Caught Up
← All articles
Pro Scene2 min read

Group B at EWC Is a Problem for at Least Two of These Teams

NRG, PRX, Vitality, and Karmine Corp landed in the same group. EWC starts July 2. Someone very good goes home early.

Josh

Group B at EWC is the cruelest draw of the season. NRG, Paper Rex, Vitality, Karmine Corp. One of those teams misses the playoff stage. Possibly two.

EWC 2026 runs July 2 to 12 in Paris, sixteen teams, $2 million in prize money. Most of the groups are manageable. Group B is not.

What Group B Actually Is

NRG are the reigning world champions. Champions 2025 in Paris is theirs. FUT sent them home at Masters London before the playoffs, which was a rough exit. The kind of thing you shake off going into the next event, or you don't.

PRX lost the Masters London grand final to Leviatán in five maps. Runner-up at the last major. They are going to Paris with something to prove.

Vitality went top four at Masters London. LEV eliminated them in the lower bracket semis, and then LEV went on to win the whole tournament. Getting knocked out by the eventual champion is not a collapse. It's just a brutal draw.

Karmine Corp is the French org. EWC is in Paris. They get the home crowd and every reason to be the wildcard nobody wanted in this group.

The Match I'm Watching

NRG vs PRX is the axis of Group B. World champions who had a rough Masters London running into the runner-up who is still stinging from June 21. Either NRG reasserts themselves, or PRX gets the early statement win that changes their whole tournament. One of those outcomes completely reshapes the bracket.

Group D Is a Mess Too

GE heads in under first-time head coach Platoon, five days after the FrosT firing became official. First opponent: Team Heretics, the defending EWC champions. Who are also going in without their head coach on-site. Neilzinho ruptured his ACL and tore his meniscus and cannot travel to Paris. He will be coaching remotely.

Both coaching situations are genuinely chaotic. GE vs TH might be forgettable, or it might be the strangest match of the tournament. I don't know which.

July 2. Three days.

← Back to all articles