Honor of Kings has unveiled the tournament format, participating teams, and competition details for the Honor of Kings World Cup (KWC) at the 2026 Esports World Cup, marking the first time teams from both Honor of Kings (HoK) and Arena of Valor (AoV) will compete in the same international tournament.
Running from July 30 to August 8 in Paris, France, the event will feature 20 teams battling for a $3 million prize pool, making it one of the biggest mobile MOBA tournaments of the year.
Honor of Kings and Arena of Valor unite on one competitive stage
The 2026 edition introduces a cross-title format that brings together professional teams from Honor of Kings and Arena of Valor under a unified competitive ruleset.
To support the crossover, Tencent has developed a dedicated Esports World Cup tournament patch based on Honor of Kings Season 15. The custom version includes 111 playable heroes, giving teams a significantly larger draft pool than previous international events.
The expanded hero roster is expected to reshape the competitive meta, allowing professional teams to explore new drafting strategies, counter-picks, and team compositions throughout the tournament.
KWC 2026 expands its global reach
The tournament also broadens its international representation with teams qualifying from more regions than previous editions.
In addition to established HOK regions, the tournament welcomes representatives from India, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Taiwan region, further strengthening the game’s global esports ecosystem.
The field includes defending champion AG.AL, Kuaishou Gaming from the King Pro League (China), Buriram United Esports from the RoV Pro League (Thailand), Team Flash from Arena of Glory (Vietnam), and Deep Cross Gaming from the Garena Challenger Series (Taiwan).
They will also be joined by Team Vitality, Team Nemesis, and OG Esports from Indonesia Kings Laga; Aurora Gaming, Geekay Esports, and ROC Esports from the MY Honor of Kings League; BOOM Esports, Titan Esports Club, and Blacklist International from the Philippine Kings League; MIBR.LOS and Influence Rage from the Honor of Kings Brazil Championship; Virtus.pro and Nongshim RedForce from the Kings Major League; and S8UL Esports together with Revenant XSpark through the King’s Arise India Qualifier.
Three-stage format returns with Global Ban & Pick
The Kings World Cup 2026 will follow a three-stage format, beginning with the Play-in Stage before advancing to the Group Stage and concluding with the Playoffs.
The Play-in Stage features eight teams split into two groups, competing in a double-elimination bracket using best-of-three (BO3) matches with the Global Ban & Pick format. The top two teams from each group will advance to the Group Stage.
The Group Stage expands the field to 16 teams divided into four groups. Each group will also use a double-elimination format with best-of-three (BO3) matches and Global Ban & Pick, with the top two teams from every group progressing to the playoffs.
The Playoffs will feature an eight-team single-elimination bracket. Most matches will be played as best-of-seven (BO7) series using the Global Ban & Pick format, while the third-place match will be contested as a best-of-five (BO5). The tournament concludes with the Grand Final, which will be played under the Ultimate Battle draft mode.
Honor of Kings continues to elevate global esports
The Honor of Kings World Cup 2026 represents another step in Tencent’s efforts to unify its global MOBA ecosystem by bringing together professional talent from both Honor of Kings and Arena of Valor.
With a record 111-hero competitive pool, representatives from multiple regions, and one of the largest prize pools in mobile esports, the tournament aims to showcase the highest level of competition when it begins on July 30 at the 2026 Esports World Cup in Paris.
