Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 26 (ANI): Indian Grandmaster and double Olympiad Gold medalist, Vidit Gujrathi and Dutch Grandmaster Benjamin Bok have qualified for the India Rising: Road to EWC Chess LAN Finals in Mumbai following an intense closed playoff stage featuring some of the biggest names in competitive chess.

The Mumbai LAN Finals will decide the player advancing to the final stage of the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 in Paris.

The playoffs, held on Chess.com and streamed live on JioBLAST and Chess.com channels, featured top Indian and Global Grandmasters competing in a knockout format after advancing through the earlier Swiss-format qualifiers, as per a press release.

The Asian Games silver medalist, Gujrathi secured his place in the LAN finals after defeating rising Indian Grandmaster M Pranesh in the quarterfinals and Raunak Sadhwani in the semifinals. Benjamin Bok on the other side advanced after overcoming Karthikeyan Murali and World No. 11 Arjun Erigaisi in a closely contested bracket.

'The Swiss stage was incredibly demanding because every round felt like a battle against world-class opposition. Formats like these really test your consistency, preparation and mental resilience over a sustained period. Qualifying for the LAN Finals from such a strong field makes this especially rewarding, and as a Mumbai player, I'm especially excited to compete in front of a home crowd. What also makes India Rising exciting is that it is creating meaningful global pathways for Indian chess players by connecting competitive chess with the rapidly growing esports ecosystem,' said Vidit Gujrathi after this historic win.

India Rising: Road to EWC is an initiative launched by JioBLAST and the Esports Foundation to create a competitive pathway connecting Indian chess and esports talent to the global Esports World Cup ecosystem.

The playoffs followed a nine-round Swiss-format qualifying stage that featured leading Indian Grandmasters including Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Raunak Sadhwani, Karthikeyan Murali, Divya Deshmukh, V Pranav, M Pranesh, Pranav Anand and Aravindh Chithambaram, who has already qualified as the first Indian Grandmaster to the Esports World Cup 2026.

Speaking on the growing momentum around the competition, Charlie Cowdrey, CEO, JioBLAST, said, 'The level of competition throughout the India Rising: Road to EWC qualifiers and playoffs reflects both the strength of Indian chess and the growing crossover between chess and the esports ecosystem. Bringing together Tier 1 talent alongside emerging grassroots on one unified platform, India Rising: Road to EWC stays true to the JioBLAST and EWC's shared ethos of creating inclusive, long-term pathways for players and fans to rise, compete, and be recognised.'

The India Rising LAN Finals in Mumbai will determine the player advancing to the final stage of the Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris, where competitors will battle for a share of the overall 1.5 USD million prize pool. (ANI)