Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin, representing S8UL Esports, has officially qualified for the Chess main event at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 through the Champions Chess Tour (CCT) 2025-2026 Leaderboard. He joins teammate Aravindh Chithambaram as the only two Indian players to qualify for the prestigious tournament so far.
The CCT 2025-2026 season featured two major events, the Speed Chess Championship (SCC) 2025 and Chess.com Open (CCO) 2026. The top three players from both tournaments secured direct qualification to the EWC, while players finishing between fifth and ninth in SCC, along with the remaining participants in CCO, earned points toward the CCT Leaderboard based on their performances.
In addition to these events, players also accumulated points through the Titled Tuesday Grand Prix (TTGP) circuit, which was divided into Autumn, Winter, and Spring splits featuring 13 Titled Tuesday tournaments each. Players earned leaderboard points in every Titled Tuesday event across the season. At the end of the season, the top nine players in the final CCT Leaderboard standings, excluding already-qualified players, secured their spots at EWC 2026.
Nihal narrowly missed out on direct qualification through the CCO after finishing fourth, just one spot away from qualification, but still secured 100 crucial leaderboard points from the event. He further added points through consistent performances across the TTGP circuit, including one point in the Autumn Split and four points in the Winter Split. A standout second-place finish in the Spring Split ultimately helped him accumulate 34 points and finish with a total of 139 points in the standings to secure his berth at the EWC 2026.
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Last year, Nihal was one of only two Indians representing the country at the EWC 2025 after qualifying through the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ). He went on to reach the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Magnus Carlsen.
Meanwhile, fellow S8UL Grandmaster Pranesh M, finished just four spots behind the final qualifying position in the CCT Leaderboard standings and also reached the quarterfinals of the India Rising qualifier. He still remains in contention for EWC qualification through the upcoming LCQ, from which four additional players will qualify for the tournament.
This year’s EWC Chess competition, where the world’s best players will compete for a prize pool of USD 1.5 million (~INR 14.3 crore) from August 11 to 15, will feature a revised two-phase format. The tournament will begin with the newly introduced Play-In stage, where eight players qualified through the LCQ and DreamHack Atlanta will compete in a double-elimination bracket featuring two-game matches. Aravindh, who secured qualification through DreamHack Atlanta earlier this year, will compete in this stage. The top-performing players from the Play-In stage will advance to the Group Stage.
Nihal, meanwhile, has directly qualified for the Group Stage through the CCT rankings. The Group Stage will feature 16 players divided into two groups of eight, once again competing in double-elimination brackets with two-game matches. The top four players from each group will advance to the Playoffs.
The Playoffs will follow a single-elimination format, featuring four-game matches in the quarterfinals and six-game matches in the semifinals. The tournament winner will ultimately be decided through a grueling Grand Finals series comprising three separate sets of games.
The EWC 2026, set to take place from July 6 to August 23 in Paris, France, will bring together over 2,000 players from 200 clubs across more than 100 countries competing for a record-breaking prize pool of USD 75 million (~INR 718 crore). With confirmed qualification across three titles, S8UL will continue its push to represent India on the global stage while pursuing qualification in additional events.
