Carlsen has done it without losing a single game in Paris, in either the group stage or in the playoffs. (EWC Photo)Magnus Carlsen on Saturday won the 2026 ESports World Cup by beating 19-year-old Belarusian GrandMaster Denis Lazavik in the final in Paris. Carlsen has done it without losing a single game in Paris, in either the group stage or the in the playoffs. Turning up for Team Liquid, Carlsen beat Lazavik, who was representing AG AL, comprehensively with a 3-1 in the first set and 3-1 in the second.Showing the world who the trophy belongs to!@MagnusCarlsen lifts the Chess at EWC26 trophy. ?? pic.twitter.com/jBNRZbtl9E— Esports World Cup (@EWC_EN) August 15, 2026“I followed Denis’ games and talked to the coaches. I do feel, especially with Hikaru’s approach, it was not right. Funny thing is, I said that he is not great at defending endgames, so I thought I should keep it together better than Hikaru,” the five-time world champion said after the win.“I have played Denis many times online, where I played riskily and got punished for it, so I didn’t give him obvious positional advantages.” Carlsen had secured a 2.5-0.5 victory over Indian GM Nihal Sarin and then beat Iranian-French GM Alireza Firouzja 4-1 in a thriller of a semi-final.Asked if there was any moment when he felt he might lose, Carlsen said: “There were several moments, a couple against Alireza, against Nihal as well. There were certainly some moments, but I am thrilled to go undefeated. I was not trying to do anything out of the ordinary. I tried to take my chances, with a little bit of randomness, and I am happy.”More to come…