Philippine esports team Team Stallions finished among the world’s top four teams in the CrossFire tournament at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026, matching last year’s result.
The Filipino team reached the semifinals after beating ROC Esports and Evolution Power. They then pushed Team Liquid to an overtime match before falling just one win short of reaching the championship round.
After the tough semifinal loss, Team Stallions faced KINGZERO-eSports in the battle for third place. The Filipino squad lost 3-0 and settled for fourth place for the second year in a row.
The finish earned Team Stallions $130,000 (about ₱8 million) and added another strong international result for Philippine esports.
Although the team missed a podium finish, back-to-back top-four finishes show that Filipino CrossFire players can consistently challenge some of the world’s strongest teams, including top squads from China.
China’s BaiSha Gaming went on to win the CrossFire title after defeating Brazil’s Team Liquid 3-0 in the grand final.
BaiSha Gaming did not have an easy path to the championship. The team suffered an early loss in the group stage but bounced back in the playoffs, eliminating defending champion AG AL before beating KINGZERO-eSports to reach the finals.
The victory also completed the career achievements of BaiSha captain Wang “N9” Hao, who finally won the only major CrossFire title missing from his collection. He was also named Sony MVP and received an additional $25,000.
“I feel absolutely amazing because we weren’t the favorites, and we had such a difficult group. But in these three days, we had the hardest road, but now we are here and we have the sweetest victory,” N9 said.
After receiving the MVP award, N9 said the recognition belonged to the entire team.
“I couldn’t have won this MVP. I couldn’t have won this trophy without the help of my teammates. It is a team game after all, and I think I simply did what needed to be done,” he said. “But it was really my teammates that elevated each other. So I’m just there telling them, commanding them, leading the team. But it requires a team effort. Everyone did the utmost, everyone did their part. It is absolutely a team effort and not an individual one.”
