Image credit: Esports World Cup (Image credit: Vineet Ramakrishnan/TimesofIndia.com)

TimesofIndia.com in PARIS: The Esports World Cup was not supposed to be in Paris this year. The 2026 edition was moved from Riyadh to the French capital in May amid the regional security situation, with the Esports Foundation stressing that Riyadh remained the event’s home.What was initially a necessity has now given the organisers something else to think about: whether EWC can actually travel. Faisal Bin Homran, chief product officer of the Esports Foundation, says the Paris move has accelerated a plan to eventually take the tournament to other cities.For Bin Homran, that has provided something more useful than a change of venue: proof that the tournament can travel.“What happened this year is we expedited this move,” Bin Homran told TimesofIndia.com. “It was 2028, 2029, 2030. To rotate, it was 2036. So we expedited this strategy. Was it 2026 planned? No. But this move was expedited. And this tells me that it’s ready to move around.”The Paris edition, therefore, is being viewed inside the Foundation as more than an international stop for an event whose home has been Riyadh.“I think we would see EWC rotating. We don’t know where or when yet. But I think at the end of it, it would be a global IP event in the world,” he said.Riyadh will continue to be the event’s hub, even as EWC looks to take the tournament to other cities.“Adding to that, Riyadh would be the hub and the host of it as a default,” Bin Homran said.Paris had the practical ingredients to make the move possible. Bin Homran pointed to the city’s infrastructure and existing esports audience, as well as its recent experience hosting major esports tournaments.The biggest logistical problem was not the venue. “The visa was a challenge, to be honest,” he said.

Faisal Bin Homran, chief product officer of the Esports Foundation (Image credit: Vineet Ramakrishnan/TimesofIndia.com)

The Foundation had less than six weeks to put the Paris edition together and needed a large number of visas to be issued. Bin Homran credited support from France and Paris for helping the event overcome that hurdle.“So it was tough. But we overcome it with the partnership with them.”The move also appears to have sharpened the Foundation’s thinking about what EWC is supposed to become. Bin Homran does not describe it simply as a tournament. He keeps returning to four principles: the best games, the best clubs and players, and a gaming festival that can attract people beyond the core esports audience.“We have the best games around the world. We have the best clubs and the best players. And we have the best gaming festival. So it is a festival that hosts the best tournaments from all over the world.”In Paris, EWC has also been built around more than the competition, with fan zones and activities running alongside the tournaments. Bin Homran said the idea is to draw people beyond those who follow individual esports titles.“There is something for families to come into it. There is something for esports fans. And there is something for gamers, which is a wider appealing audience than esports fans’ niche who are only watching Fnatic to play Valorant or watching Magnus and just all these.”The ambition is now to take that product to more markets and India is one of them.Bin Homran described India as “one of the most important markets” because of its player base, games and influencer culture. But he also pointed to a problem that has less to do with the size of the country’s gaming audience and more to do with how the global games industry operates.

(Image credit: Vineet Ramakrishnan/TimesofIndia.com)

“We had some challenges of some games that has a different version in India,” he said. “I hope that publishers fix this.”His preference is for games to be more globally aligned so that players from different markets can compete against one another without separate versions creating barriers.“If publishers globalise their games, that would help me,” he said. “I don’t want to have, oh, when I play, I want to talk, I want to talk with one language. Let’s play with the mobile. Let’s play this game. Let’s play this game.”The Foundation is already researching how it can increase its presence in India, including through qualifiers and tournaments. And Bin Homran has a specific idea for what that could look like.“My goal, hopefully one day, to have a qualifier in each of the different main markets. So I want the qualifier to be physical there. So you have road to EWC India.”The idea is straightforward: a physical Indian qualifier focused on Indian players and clubs, with the winners earning a route to the Esports World Cup.“This is to see which Indian club or players qualify to EWC,” he said. “It’s similar to this. But it’s only focusing on the Indian players and Indian clubs. That’s the aim and the goal. And we’re working towards that goal.”

(Image credit: Vineet Ramakrishnan/TimesofIndia.com)

The Foundation is already looking at ways to increase its presence in India, including qualifiers and tournaments. Bin Homran has a specific idea in mind.Bin Homran also rejected the idea that India lacks the ingredients to produce more top-level esports participation. “I don’t think there’s something missing in India,” he said, adding, “I think it’s the alignment of the main stakeholders. Because I own EWC. I don’t own publisher’s license.”He believes that situation is changing as publishers look at how to globalise their games and improve their presence in India. “So as soon as everything is aligned, I think we can do it faster than ever,” he said.The India plans are still being worked on. There is no city, date or tournament format announced in the interview. But Bin Homran said the Foundation is researching how to build a stronger presence in the country and hopes to have more activity there soon.“I hope one day or soon, we will have more stuff there,” he said. “And I will go myself there and see it and check it out.”

(Image credit: Vineet Ramakrishnan/TimesofIndia.com)

For now, Paris is serving a similar purpose for EWC itself. The Foundation has taken a tournament that was built around Riyadh and put it in a different city, with a different audience and a compressed preparation timeline.Bin Homran’s assessment is that the experiment has worked well enough to accelerate an ambition that had been further down the road. The next destination is not decided. But the direction is.“I think we would see EWC rotating,” Bin Homran said. “We don’t know where or when yet.” And somewhere in that future rotation, the Foundation wants India to have its own route in. “Road to EWC India.”

A field of seven spring hopefuls is scheduled to trial at Caulfield Heath ahead of the commencement of racing at Caulfield.

The Melbourne Racing Club has extended a helping hand to trainers looking for a turf trial for some of Victoria’s emerging spring stars.

Caulfield Heath will be the venue for a specially organised trial this Saturday, occurring 45 minutes before the first race at Caulfield.

The seven participants in the 1000-metre trial are Aethera, De Bergerac, Giga Kick, Mr Brightside, Tom Kitten, Treasurethe Moment, and Yellow Jersey.

A collaborative effort involving the MRC, Racing Victoria, the Australian Trainers’ Association, and the Victorian Jockeys’ Association brought this trial together.

This trial is particularly important for Mr Brightside, Tom Kitten, and Treasurethe Moment, as they are being prepared for their first-up runs in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 29.

The persistent wet weather in Victoria over the past week has had an impact on horses gearing up for the upcoming Melbourne Spring Carnival. Jump-outs for horses based at Mornington on Wednesday were cancelled, and turf jump-outs at Cranbourne last Monday were also abandoned and subsequently moved to the synthetic track.

Furthermore, the MRC plans to conduct jump-outs at Caulfield Heath next Wednesday, which are generally reserved for horses trained at Mornington.

However, an agreement has been reached between the MRC and RV to accommodate up to 40 horses not trained at Mornington for gallops on the outside of the Caulfield Heath track.

Nominations for these jump-outs close on Monday, and early indications suggest that the fields will comprise a significant number of potential spring contenders.

Find the best betting markets for the race at Caulfield via these leading platforms.

With a wealth of high-quality three-year-olds in his stable, Chris Waller has decided to split his team between Melbourne and Sydney for the current season.

While Hidrix, Central Europe, and Striking Alibi will represent the stable in The Rosebud at Rosehill on Saturday, Waller has dispatched Confederation south to compete in the Group 3 Vain Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield.

Confederation arrived in Melbourne last week and completed a jump-out at Flemington last Friday, finishing at the rear of the five-horse field.

The son of Wootton Bassett had two starts in his first campaign, chasing home his stablemate Hidrix on debut in the Group 3 Canonbury Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill in January before running second last behind Stretan Ruler in the Group 2 Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) at the same track three weeks later.

Racing NSW stewards placed a warning on Confederation following that run, which was partly instrumental in Waller deciding to send the colt to Melbourne.

Confederation had one trial, finishing second at Rosehill last month, before heading to the trainer’s Flemington base.

“He doesn’t like the Rosehill 1100 (metres),” Waller said of the decision to send Confederation to Melbourne.

“He had a couple of runs out of the shute and he used to get a bit aggressive and run out to the left, and it cost him a couple of times.”

Waller mentioned he was still assessing his new season three-year-olds, trying to determine which of his team had made the progression from two to three.

However, the trainer has confidence Confederation will make the necessary step.

“We go by feel,” Waller stated.

“He looks like he’s come back well, and Damian Lane rode him on Friday, and he was pretty happy with him.”

While Lane partnered Confederation in the jump-out at Flemington last week, he switches to Hard Kick on Saturday.

Ben Melham will ride Confederation on Saturday.

For punters interested in Confederation’s chances in the Vain Stakes, explore the sports betting options available.

Amidst Venus Williams and Alex Eala’s blossoming relationship, the American’s husband Andrea and the Filipino’s father Michael have become best-buddies. The two men recently shared a sweet interaction on social media, showcasing the depth of their bond.

Williams and Eala met each other on court for the first time earlier this year as opponents. The duo competed against each other at the ASB Classic, with the pairing of Eala and Iva Jovic getting the better of Williams and Elina Svitolina. A few months later, the two WTA stars joined forces at the Bad Homburg Open. Competing alongside each other in Germany, the pair had a start to their campaign as they ousted Catherine Harrison and Alexandra Osborne in straight sets. They eventually went down against Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls in the quarterfinals.

As Venus Williams and Alex Eala’s bond grows stronger on and off the tennis court, Williams’ husband Andrea Preti and Eala’s father Michael recently shared a sweet interaction on social media. The latter took to his Instagram story to share a picture of Williams’ autographed book ‘Strive’, and thanked the tennis star for the gesture. Reposting the story, Preti wrote,

“♥️💪♥️.”

Eala’s father Michael has been an important part of the Filipino tennis star’s journey on the WTA Tour. Meanwhile, Preti has been one of Williams’ loudest cheerleaders as the American returns to competition.

Venus Williams and Alex Eala open up about their relationship

Venus Williams and Alex Eala were most recently seen in action alongside each other at the National Bank Open. The duo partnered up for the women’s doubles event at the tournament, but suffered a disappointing opening round exit in Toronto.

After their loss, the pair opened up about their relationship. Williams heaped praise on the rising star, saying,

“Alex is a world star. She’s just incredible. Besides the fact of her tennis, she’s an incredible person, well spoken, and just an impressive young lady. So I like being around those kinds of things. I think we both lift each other up.”

Meanwhile, Eala emphasised how competing alongside Williams was motivating her to give her all, explaining,

“When I’m on court with Venus there’s a lot I can learn about mentality. When I’m on court with her it also pushes me to kind of match her energy. So of course when you’re on court with someone who plays like her, you want to kind of give it your all.”

After wrapping up their campaign in Toronto, Venus Williams and Alex Eala arrived in Ohio for the Cincinnati Open. Williams made an opening round exit at the event, while Eala is gearing up to compete against Elena Gabriela-Ruse for her round of 64 encounter.