Call of Duty at Esports World Cup 2026 begins on August 5 with Movistar KOI, G2, OpTic and 100 Thieves in action.
Call of Duty at Esports World Cup 2026 begins on Wednesday, August 5, with the first fixtures of the group stage, when the 16 participating teams will start their quest for the trophy.
Esportbet brings you free Call of Duty betting predictions and expert picks for some of the most exciting opening-day matches, with odds courtesy of the best esports bookmakers.
Movistar KOI are -151.52 favourites on the top-rated CoD bookmakers to defeat the Carolina Royal Ravens on Wednesday, in what promises to be an entertaining affair.
Royal Ravens enter the Esports World Cup with a changed roster, now fielding former Miami Heretics player Nicolás “Traix” Mónaco, who will link up with Logan “Lurqxx” Brown to form a scary SMG duo.
However, as exciting as the young duo may seem on paper, it is hard to fade Movistar KOI for this match.
Movistar KOI have not made any roster changes since the end of the Call of Duty League season, which adds some continuity to an already strong roster.
Their run in the CDL Championship was disappointing, but this core found a lot more success than the Royal Ravens in earlier stages of the season.
Movistar KOI to win
G2 Esports are expected to dominate on Wednesday, when they take on one of the worst teams of the 2026 CDL season.
Cloud9 have made one adjustment to their lineup, adding Isaiah “Gwinn” Gwinn in place of Jacob “Hide” Bustillos.
This change makes Cloud9 better, but for a team who have won just three games since the turn of the year, more roster changes would be needed for them to become competitive.
G2 Esports were a mid-table team in the CDL season, but showed up in the Championship, where they placed top-six.
They are still not among the elite contenders, but they are much stronger than Cloud9, and it should show on Wednesday.
G2 Esports -2.5 maps
OMiT are one of the best second-division teams, having recently won Call of Duty Challengers 2026 Finals.
While this does not instantly make them serious title contenders at the Esports World Cup, OMiT have the tools to challenge CDL teams.
Their fast-tempo playstyle has been hard to deal with for CDC squads, and combined with the firepower OMiT have, there is a world where they cause a few upsets.
Beating Gentle Mates, however, is a big ask.
Gentle Mates are not only one of the most successful CDL teams, but they had a solid season and will also be playing in front of their home crowd, which is not something to ignore.
Had this been any mid-table CDL team, OMiT would have a real fighting chance, but Gentle Mates are more than that.
Gentle Mates -2.5 maps
OpTic Gaming failed to defend their CDL title last month, when they had to admit defeat to FaZe in the grand final.
Still, despite the bittersweet ending to the CDL season, OpTic remain one of the world’s strongest squads and should be viewed as serious EWC title contenders.
Team WaR finished the CDC season in third place, which is a praiseworthy achievement.
However, as solid as Team WaR have looked in the second division, expecting them to be as dominant against an elite team like OpTic is too optimistic.
Anything less than a 3-0 sweep would be viewed as a disappointment.
OpTic Gaming -2.5 maps
100 Thieves are -1250 favourites to defeat Boston Breach, which gives them a 92.6% implied probability of success.
This is a huge number, but a reasonable one.
100 Thieves were the most dominant team of the latter half of the CDL season, and their abysmal run in the Championship does not take that away from them.
Thieves’ round-one exit from the season-ending event echoed throughout the CoD scene, but it also creates a sense of urgency, where another subpar showing in France could lead to major roster changes.
Boston Breach were not only one of the bottom teams of the CDL 2026 season, but they have also been away from action for over one month.
While they have had time to rest and work on their issues, Boston Breach have made no roster changes, so any notable improvements in their gameplay are unlikely.
100 Thieves -2.5 maps
Mark Prezelj
Esports Betting Analyst
Mark Prezelj is a Slovenian esports betting analyst with over 3,500 articles at EsportBet and the founder of Lines64.com — someone who has been reading odds longer than most readers have been watching esports.
