 |
Le Quang Liem will participate in the Esports World Cup 2026. Photo: RoadToEWC . |
According to information from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism , Grandmaster Le Quang Liem has achieved a major goal by competing in the DreamHack Atlanta 2026 tournament held in the United States. This tournament is part of the "Road to EWC" system, the official qualifying round for the chess event at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026.
The tournament brought together 36 players. In Group A, Le Quang Liem won both of his matches with a score of 2-0 to advance. In the first knockout round, he defeated Jules Moussard (France) with a score of 1.5-0.5 to reach the top 8.
After losing to Alexey Sarana (Serbia) in the winners' bracket semi-finals, Le Quang Liem moved to the losers' bracket and won against Jules Moussard in a rematch. This result secured him a place in the top 4 overall, officially earning him a spot in the 2026 Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia this July.
 |
Le Quang Liem finished in third place overall, receiving a prize of $5,000 . Photo: RoadToEWC. |
Relieving the pressure, Vietnam's number one chess player went on to defeat Andrey Esipenko (Russia) to reach the loser's bracket final. Facing his arch-rival Alexey Sarana again, Le Quang Liem once more lost, finishing third overall and receiving a prize of $5,000 (approximately 130 million VND).
This is considered a significant milestone for Vietnamese chess, especially as the sport is expanding its influence into the field of esports. In recent years, the rapid development of online competition platforms has led to an increasing number of chess appearances at major international esports events.
2026 marks the second consecutive year that chess has been included in the official EWC competition program. While the strategic nature of the games remains the same, the competition format has fundamentally changed. Instead of sitting opposite each other across a chessboard, players will gather in one location and make moves directly on a computer system.
Le Quang Liem stated that he had experience with this format from the Champions Chess Tour system. He considers it a very new, modern, and dynamic competition model, in line with global development trends.
Following the tournament in the US, Le Quang Liem will continue to represent Vietnam at the ASEAN eSports Chess Cup 2026, which will take place on June 13th in Bangkok, Thailand. This event is expected to feature "chess king" Magnus Carlsen.
Source: https://znews.vn/le-quang-liem-gianh-ve-esports-world-cup-post1652400.html
Comment (0)