Cristiano Ronaldo Joins Macron, Infantino, and Saudi Crown Prince as Esports World Cup Ends in Paris

Cristiano Ronaldo, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, French President Emmanuel Macron and FIFA president Gianni Infantino were among the high-profile guests as the Esports World Cup ended in Paris on Sunday.

The closing ceremony came after seven weeks of competition involving more than 2,000 players from more than 100 countries.

Macron presented the Club Championship trophy to AG.AL after the China-based organisation won the overall competition and its $7 million prize. French player Gwendal “Gwen” Duparc sealed the victory by winning the final Trackmania competition in front of his home crowd.

Ronaldo was also part of the ceremony because of his role as the global ambassador of the Esports World Cup, which he became last year. His presence alongside Infantino also showed how close football and gaming have become. Football clubs and players are getting involved in esports through teams, sponsorships, investments and digital content.

I’m proud to join the Esports World Cup as Global Ambassador – standing with esports athletes who rise above and inspire the next generation.@EWC_EN #AD pic.twitter.com/o1BIcuWtoh

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) June 13, 2025

Saudi Arabia has taken that relationship further by making gaming and esports part of its plans to build a bigger global sports and entertainment industry.

Why the World Cup Moved to Paris

The Esports World Cup began in Riyadh after growing from the Gamers8 festival launched in 2022. It became an annual competition in 2024 and was expected to return to Saudi Arabia this year.

Instead, organisers moved the 2026 edition to Paris because the conflict in the region caused major problems with international travel.

Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, chairman of the Esports Foundation’s executive committee, said cancelling the tournament was never seriously considered. The main problem was getting thousands of players, staff and gaming executives into Saudi Arabia while flights and visa arrangements were being disrupted.

Paris became the alternative.

Over 2,000 players representing 200 clubs from more than 100 countries competed across 25 tournaments in 24 games. The event had a total prize pool of more than $75 million.

The move also attracted 175,000 ticket sales, a 94% increase from 2025. More than two million people visited competition venues, fan events and other activities across Paris.

Online, the tournament reached 850 million viewers and generated 440 million hours watched, according to the Esports World Cup Foundation.

AG.AL Ends Team Falcons’ Winning Run

AG.AL ended Team Falcons’ two-year reign as Club Championship winners.

Falcons entered the final Trackmania competition with 4,600 points and were hoping to win the title for a third straight year.

Their hopes suffered a major blow when seven-time Trackmania world champion Carl-Antoni “Carl Jr” Cloutier was eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Duparc then delivered the decisive result.

He needed to finish third or higher for AG.AL to win the overall championship. Instead, he won the competition outright, taking AG.AL to 5,300 points.

AG.AL collected $7 million, while Team Falcons received $5 million for finishing second. Duparc also won $130,000 for the individual Trackmania title.

AG.AL won the biggest prize, but several other players and teams also produced memorable moments in Paris.

In Fortnite Reload, 19-year-old Taylor-Petrik “vic0” Gatschelhofer and 20-year-old Danila “Malibuca” Iakovenko won the championship and $260,000.

The pair also made history by becoming the first duo to win back-to-back major in-person Fortnite tournaments.

BaiSha Gaming also completed a comeback story in CrossFire. The Chinese team lost the 2025 Esports World Cup final. This time, it returned to beat defending champions AG.AL before defeating Team Liquid 3-0 in the final.

Paris Gives Saudi Arabia a New Test

The tournament will return to Riyadh in 2027. That means Paris was not a permanent move. But the move may have changed how the tournament is viewed. The organisers had to move thousands of players and staff to another country and set up a seven-week competition in a new city.

Mike McCabe, chief executive of the Esports Foundation, said the organisers would take what they learned in Paris back to Riyadh and use it when planning future events.

That may be the biggest story from this year’s competition.

Saudi Arabia built the Esports World Cup in Riyadh and will take it home next year. But when circumstances forced the tournament to Paris, it still attracted thousands of players, hundreds of clubs and a huge global audience.

AG.AL leaves Paris with the $7 million prize.

Saudi Arabia leaves with something potentially more valuable: proof that the esports tournament it built at home can work on a much bigger international stage.