Indian Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram won the Road to EWC (Esports World Cup) qualifier at DreamHack Atlanta to become the first Indian player to secure qualification for the chess main event.
Aravindh’s feat has in turn ensured that S8UL, a global name in esports and gaming content, has officially qualified for its third title at EWC 2026 following successful campaigns in Fortnite and Honor of Kings.
The qualifiers featured a group stage followed by playoffs, with matches featuring two games per series and Armageddon as the tiebreaker, all played at 10 minutes with no increment. The group stage consisted of two double-elimination groups, with the top four players from each group advancing to the playoffs. Aravindh advanced to the Upper Bracket (UB) semifinals from Group B after registering victories over Kyler Raines, Justin Liang, Oleksander Bortnyk, and Christopher Woo.
In the UB semifinals, Aravindh once again faced Woo and defeated him 2-1 after the opening two games ended in draws, clinching victory in the Armageddon game. He followed it up with another 2-1 win over Alexey Sarana in the UB final to secure his place in the grand final, where he once again faced Sarana. The grand final was played in a double-match format, where a Lower Bracket (LB) win triggered a single Armageddon decider if required. After Sarana won the opening two games of the final from the LB side, Aravindh showcased immense composure under pressure, fighting back to win the Armageddon decider and come out on top in the qualifiers.
READ: Bharat Singh Chauhan re-elected as Commonwealth Chess Association chairman
With the victory, the 26-year-old secured USD 15,000 (~INR 14 lakh) in prize money and earned a coveted place among the eight players who have officially qualified for the EWC 2026 chess main event, set to take place from August 11 to 15 with an overall prize pool of USD 1.5 million (~INR 14 crore).
“Qualifying for the Esports World Cup this year is a very proud and exciting moment for me, especially with so many top players and organisations from around the world competing at the event. This particular format leaves very little room for error, as every decision matters when you are playing 10-minute games without increment against some of the strongest players in the world,” Aravindh said.
Alongside Aravindh, fellow S8UL Grandmasters Nihal Sarin and Pranesh M also remain in contention to qualify. A total of nine players will qualify through the Champions Chess Tour Leaderboard, where Nihal is currently in a qualifying position. Additionally, four players will secure qualification through the Last Chance Qualifiers closer to the tournament, while one final slot will be awarded through the India Rising event, scheduled to conclude on July 5.
Published on May 18, 2026
