S8UL Esports’ Nihal Sarin and Gen.G Esports’ Arjun Erigaisi have advanced to the quarterfinals of Chess at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 after progressing through the lower bracket (LB) on the final day of the group stage. Both Grandmasters, who also reached the playoffs at last year’s edition, will now lead India’s challenge in the quarter finals on August 14 as they vie for the title and a share of the $1.5 million (~INR 14.3 crore) prize pool.Nihal began his day with a closely contested LB matchup against Team Nemesis’ Wei Yi. After the opening two games ended in draws, the Indian Grandmaster held his nerve in the Armageddon tiebreaker to secure victory and advance to the LB decider. He then faced Weibo Gaming’s Jan-Krzysztof Duda, drawing the first game before winning the second to book his place in the playoffs. The qualification marks another strong EWC showing for Nihal, who also reached the quarterfinals at last year’s edition before being eliminated by eventual champion Magnus Carlsen of Team Liquid.‘You need to be sharp from the start’Speaking after his qualification, Nihal Sarin said, “Firstly, I am just extremely happy to make the top eight again and to have managed to play some good chess in some really tough matches. The format is very short, and you need to be sharp from the start. Getting just one win can make a huge difference psychologically. I am relieved to pull through and hope to do well tomorrow.” His S8UL teammate Pranesh M also kept his playoff hopes alive with a hard-fought victory over Team MGD1’s Benjamin Bok. After winning the opening game, Pranesh came close to sealing the match in the second before Bok mounted a late comeback to force an Armageddon. The tiebreaker ended in a draw, with Pranesh, playing with the Black pieces, progressing to the next round.That set up an all-Indian LB decider against Arjun, who ultimately prevailed 2-0 to join Nihal in the quarterfinals, ending Pranesh’s campaign and completing Group A’s playoffs lineup. Arjun, who finished fourth at last year’s edition, will now look to build on that performance and go further this time around.“I am happy I got the job done. It is not going to be easy (to lift the trophy) with strong players like Alireza, Magnus and others, but I’ll just focus on giving my best,” said Arjun Erigaisi after his victory.In Group B, Aurora Gaming’s Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated Virtus.pro’s Andrey Esipenko 1.5-0.5 to set up a Lower Bracket decider against AG.AL’s Denis Lazavik. Meanwhile, Team Stallions’ Sina Movahed defeated Fnatic’s Alexey Sarana in an Armageddon tiebreaker to advance to a decider against GodLike Esports’ Hans Moke Niemann.The winners of those two matchups will join Nihal and Arjun in the playoffs, alongside defending champion Magnus, Team Falcons’ Alireza Firouzja and Hikaru Nakamura, and Natus Vincere’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, completing the eight-player quarterfinal lineup.The playoffs will take place on August 14 and 15 and will feature a single-elimination bracket. The quarterfinals will be played over four games, followed by six-game semifinals, while the grand final will be decided through a best-of-three sets format. The first two sets will consist of four games each, with a potential third and final set comprising two games.
