Although absent from the initial list of players registered by the Viet Nam Chess Federation for the Olympiad in Uzbekistan, Le Quang Liem delivered a strong showing on the international stage, securing one of four available places for the Esports World Cup finals.
The Esports World Cup chess competition is regarded by many players as one of the most demanding formats in modern chess. Matches are played entirely on computers, with moves, timing and game data recorded digitally, rather than across a traditional chessboard. Competitors still gather at the same venue, but interact through computer screens instead of face-to-face play.
The DreamHack Atlanta event featured 36 players competing for qualification spots. Le Quang Liem began strongly, defeating both opponents in Group A by identical 2-0 scores to advance. He then overcame French player Jules Moussard 1.5-0.5 to reach the final eight.
In the winners’ bracket semi-finals, the Vietnamese grandmaster lost to Serbia’s Alexey Sarana and dropped into the lower bracket. He responded by defeating Moussard once again before overcoming Russian player Andrey Esipenko in the lower bracket semi-finals.
Le Quang Liem eventually suffered another defeat to Sarana, finishing third overall and earning 5,000 USD in prize money.
His top-four finish officially secured him a place at the 2026 Esports World Cup, scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia from August 11 to 15. The tournament is expected to feature 21 elite players competing for a total prize pool of 1.5 million USD.
