Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi’s bid to qualify for the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 ended in a heartbreak as Dutch Grandmaster Benjamin Bok beat him 2-1 in straight sets in the final of India Rising: Road to EWC at the Jio World Convention Center in Mumbai last Saturday.Bok sealed the lone qualification point from the specific path for India to the 2026 Esports World Cup in Paris, joining an elite field of 22 players. India already have three players qualified for the main event: Aravindh Chithambaram, Nihal Sarin and Arjun Erigaisi. Vidit had entered the clash on top after impressive wins over M Pranesh and Raunak Sadhwani, while Bok produced one of the standout performances of the tournament by knocking out Karthikeyan Murali and India No. 1 Arjun Erigaisi.Before the final, Vidit had spoken about how much qualifying for the EWC meant after narrowly missing out last year.“The Esports World Cup is a very interesting tournament. Last year, I tried to play the Last Chance Qualifier. I led the tournament, but in the last three rounds, I messed up and fell short.” he had told TimesofIndia.com.“I had flown to Riyadh specifically from the United States, and it was very painful to know that after all those efforts, I could not qualify. Now I have another chance to qualify… I hope that this time I can do it.”The Indian Grandmaster also highlighted the importance of hosting the LAN Finals in Mumbai.“There are very few major tournaments that are held in India, so I was excited for the opportunity. I was hoping to make the finals in India so that my friends and family could come and see me play in person,” he had said.Players have one more chance to reach the Esports World Cup through the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) later this year, where the final five spots for the main event will be up for grabs.
