Orangutan and GodLike become first Indian teams into PMWC Grand Finals at EWC 2026

Orangutan and GodLike Esports have become the first Indian teams to qualify for the PUBG Mobile World Cup (PMWC) Grand Finals at Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026, organisers said. The milestone came during Week 5 in Paris, with the PMWC Grand Finals scheduled for August 14 to 16 and a $ 3 million (~INR 28.5 crore) prize pool on the line.

In the PMWC group stage, the 32-team field was split into two groups of 16, with each team playing 12 matches. Orangutan finished second in Group A with 91 points, 16 behind leaders 4Thrives. GodLike Esports placed third in Group B with 105 points and 73 finishes, the second-highest tally in their group.

Elsewhere in Week 5, Kuaishou Gaming won the Honor of Kings World Cup with a 4-3 Grand Final victory over reigning EWC champions AG.AL. The team entered the final after a 12-0 run through the group stage and playoffs, then recovered from a 3-2 deficit to close the series and secure a $600,000 (~INR 5.7 crore) share of the prize pool. He “JuHao” Weijia was named SONY MVP and earned an additional $25,000 (~INR 23.8 lakh). JuHao said: “I have so much inside of me I want to say, because back in the time when we were in China, in the KPL, we were facing so many obstacles and ups and downs. We kinda lost our confidence and faith in us, and I believe this title will be one motivation for us to fight harder. I believe we’ve got the best team, best players, best coaches. Thank you so much for having us here in Paris.”

TEKKEN 8 produced the week’s standout storyline, with AG AL’s Khawaja "M. Zubair" Muhammad Zubair winning the title after qualifying via the Last Chance Qualifier, making him the first recipient of the Jafonso Award at EWC 2026. During his run, M. Zubair defeated Arslan "Arslan Ash" Siddique twice (group stage and semifinals) before sweeping Yoon "LowHigh" Sun-woong 5-0 in the Grand Final. He earned a $250,000 (~INR 2.3 crore) share of the prize pool, an additional $50,000 (~INR47.6 lakh) for the Jafonso Award, and 1,000 Club Championship points for AG AL. M.Zubair said: “I worked really hard, and I had full faith that I can win this. And with my dedication, and my practice, I think I was able to achieve this.”

In Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, OpTic Gaming secured back-to-back EWC titles with a 5-3 Grand Final win over Team Heretics, taking $600,000 from the prize pool. Anthony "Shotzzy" Cuevas-Castro was named SONY MVP for the second consecutive tournament after recording 655 eliminations and earning an extra $25,000; he said: “Definitely my teammates. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here. Shoutout to the fans that showed up, we appreciate you guys. Shoutout Green Wall.” Organisers also reported a change at the top of the Club Championship standings: AG.AL moved into first on 3,350 points (450 ahead of Team Falcons on 2,900) after finishing second in Honor of Kings and winning TEKKEN 8, while Natus Vincere stayed third on 2,250 and Team Vitality and Virtus.pro were joint fourth on 2,200.