Chinese teams showcase "Honor of Kings" at Paris Esports World Cup

Chinese teams at the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) in Paris are showcasing Honor of Kings, a homegrown title rooted in Chinese history that is now reaching global audiences.

The six week competition opened July 6, drawing global teams and fans to one of the world’s largest esports stages. Honor of Kings, one of China’s biggest esports titles, commands a massive following at home and a growing audience overseas.

"The atmosphere of this international competition is perhaps a bit more intense, and the mindset going into the match is different too, because we're representing China in an overseas tournament, so I'm really happy. And it's also very powerful," said Liu Yunyu, a Chinese player.

The game’s popularity is reflected in surging ticket demand, with past finals selling out in seconds.

"We can see from the ticket sales. Actually, right now all the tickets are going so fast. Like for last year, we had one Honor of Kings final in the Bird's Nest, [which] we call the National Stadium in Beijing, and it can hold 62,000 of people, but the tickets are gone in 12 seconds. So it's so fast," said Eddy Chen, Chief Operating Officer of AG Esports' overseas headquarters and President of the Esports Association of Hong Kong, China.

A big part of its appeal is its Chinese identity, with many of the heroes inspired by figures from the country's history.

"Honor of Kings is a game that with a lot of Chinese historical idols, with heroes inside. So it is very closely related to the Chinese history, and also because this is a mobile game. So right now the China mobile is developing very fast. So everyone have the mobile phone to play, and as well as I think because this is a mind game," Chen said.

China now has more than 495 million esports users, and the industry generated more than four billion U.S. dollars last year. The ambition now is to turn that enormous domestic audience into a truly global market.

"We believe that this kind of global tournament can definitely help a lot of Chinese gaming companies to do cultural exports. Just like, for example, the Honor of Kings game. They are developed with a lot of Chinese history. And when the global players play this game, actually they can learn the Chinese history as well," Chen said.

Chinese teams showcase "Honor of Kings" at Paris Esports World Cup

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported over 6,700 confirmed Ebola cases, with a severe hunger crisis in the country compounding difficulties in outbreak response, health authorities and aid agencies warned on Wednesday.

According to data released Wednesday by the DRC's National Institute of Public Health, the current Ebola outbreak has claimed 3,267 lives out of the 6,757 confirmed cases, resulting in a fatality rate of about 48.3 percent.

In the past 24 hours alone, 71 new cases and 41 deaths were reported. A total of 27 patients recovered from their illness, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 1,590.

The outbreak has now spread to 61 health zones across six provinces: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Bas-Uele and Tshopo. Ituri Province remains the epicenter of the crisis, accounting for roughly 80 percent of all confirmed cases.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Wednesday that a severe hunger crisis in eastern DRC is exacerbating the challenges of containing the disease.

David Stevenson, WFP Country Director for the DRC, highlighted the dire situation in Ituri Province, where more than half a million people are currently facing severe food insecurity.

"That's one notch short of mortality from starvation," he said.

Stevenson emphasized that hunger undermines people's willingness and ability to adhere to health protocols. He also warned that many Ebola patients, particularly those in remote areas, lose their chance of survival simply because they are too far away from lifesaving treatment centers.

The WFP urges the international community to increase financial support, build more treatment centers, and deliver food assistance to remote areas.

The U.N. agency calls for a comprehensive approach that integrates food assistance with medical services and community-based prevention efforts to effectively contain the outbreak.

Confirmed Ebola cases top 6,700 in DR Congo as severe hunger hampers outbreak response