Provided by Smilegate

Smilegate announced on Wednesday, August 19, that the Crossfire tournament at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 in Paris, France, got off to a spectacular start with thrilling matches on Day 1 of the group stage.

The Crossfire competition, which kicked off on August 18 local time, featured the opening matches of the group stage on Day 1. Divided into Groups A and B, traditional powerhouses advanced to the winners' matches, while Team Vitality pulled off an upset in Group A by defeating Evolution Power, ramping up the excitement of the tournament.

In Group A, among victories by tournament favorites, Team Vitality produced the most eye-catching result. Stallions and Team Liquid comfortably advanced to the winners' match with 2-0 victories over Geekay Esports and Execration, respectively. In the third match of Group A, Team Vitality faced Evolution Power and secured a 2-1 series victory. In Set 1, Vitality maintained focus through a fierce battle that went into overtime and a golden round, securing a 13-12 victory in what became the highlight match of Day 1.

AG.AL, last year's EWC Crossfire champion, also easily cleared its first hurdle toward defending its title by sweeping Qing Jiu Club 2-0 without dropping a set.

In Group B, results closely aligned with expert predictions as teams with a proven track record on the global Crossfire esports stage advanced to the winners' match. Baisha Gaming advanced to the winners' match via a bye, while KingZero Esports put on a steady performance to claim a 2-0 victory against The Vicious. Natus Vincere also punched their ticket to the winners' match with a 2-0 sweep over dark horses Team Falcons.

The final match of the day between ROC Esports and Team Nemesis turned out to be the most fiercely contested battle in Group B. Both teams fought down to the wire in the deciding third set, where ROC Esports edged ahead in endgame concentration to win 2-1 and advance to the winners' match.

The tournament features 16 participating teams competing in a double-elimination format during the group stage. The top four teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinal playoffs, which will also follow a double-elimination format to crown the champion on August 22.