Gentle Mates, Movistar KOI, Team Heretics and OpTic Gaming claimed the final four playoff spots on Friday at the $1.8 million Call of Duty competition at the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris.
They each won a lower-bracket semifinal match to join FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, 100 Thieves and Team Falcons in the single-elimination stage that begins on Saturday.
Sixteen teams began the group stage on Wednesday, playing best-of-five matches. The playoff matches will be best-of-seven until Sunday’s best-of-nine grand final. The champion will win $600,000 plus 1,000 World Cup points.
On Friday in Group A, Gentle Mates earned a 3-1 victory over The Pit and Movistar KOI knocked out Cloud9 by the same score. Both bouts in Group B were 3-0 sweeps, with Team Heretics defeating Team WaR and OpTic Gaming eliminating Project Notorious.
Playoff action begins with four quarterfinal matches on Saturday:
–G2 Esports vs. Team Heretics
–Team Falcons vs. Gentle Mates
–100 Thieves vs. Movistar KOI
–FaZe Clan vs. OpTic Gaming
Call of Duty BO7 Esports World Cup prize pool
1. $600,000; 1,000 World Cup points
2. $320,000; 750 points
3. $210,000; 500 points
4. $130,000; 300 points
5-8. $75,000; 200 points
9-12. $40,000 — The Pit, Cloud9, Team WaR, Project Notorious
13-16. $20,000 — Carolina Royal Ravens, OMiT, Boston Breach, Vancouver Surge
–Field Level Media
