KWC 2026 expands to 20 teams with Arena of Valor crossover

Wasif Ahmed Published March 27, 2026

The Honor of Kings World Cup (KWC) 2026 is set to return to the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia with an expanded 20 teams.

The biggest headline of the announcement is the convergence of Arena of Valor and Honor of Kings. This time, the KWC 2026 tournament patch will feature select heroes from Arena of Valor, allowing key regions like Thailand and Vietnam to participate.

This is a major change as the two games, although, based on the same title have had completely different journeys in esports.

Arena of Valor was the global version of Honor of Kings, released in 2016. However, with the game not catching on outside of a few markets in SEA, it has been replaced by Honor of Kings.

As a result, regions like Vietnam, Thailand, and Taiwan host a separate Arena of Valor International Championship (AIC). This is completely separate from Honor of Kings.

Now, for the first time in the history of the KWC, players from both games will compete together.

KWC 2026 slot allocation

The 20 teams in KWC 2026 are as follows:

• King Pro League Spring 2026 (KPL): Two teams
• Indonesia Kings Laga Spring 2026 (IKL): Three teams
• Philippine Kings League Spring 2026 (PKL): Three teams
• MY Honor of Kings League Spring 2026 (MKL): Three teams
• Honor of Kings Brazil Championship Fall 2026 (CHOKBR): Two teams
• Honor of Kings Major League Spring 2026 (KML): Two teams
• King’s Arise India: KWC at EWC26 Qualifier: Two teams
• RoV Pro League 2026 Summer (RPL): One invited team
• Arena of Glory Spring 2026 (AOG): One invited team
• Garena Challenger Series Spring 2026 (GCS): One invited team

Notably, India is another region being added to the global tournament.

Format explained

KWC 2026 will happen across three stages: the play-in, group stage, and the playoffs.

The play-in stage will see eight teams split into two groups of four. They will compete in a double-elimination bracket, with the top two per group advancing to the next stage.

The group stage will feature 16 teams split into four groups. Again, it will feature a double-elimination bracket, with the top two teams from each group making it to the playoffs.

The playoffs, with eight teams, will have a single-elimination bracket along with a third-place match.

With plenty of high-stakes matches throughout the tournament, KWC 2026 will offer plenty of Honor of Kings betting opportunities.

Featured image source: Esports World Cup Foundation