中新社北京7月4日电 (记者 邢翀)2022布达佩斯游泳世锦赛当地时间7月3日落下帷幕。在经过游泳、跳水、花样游泳、公开水域、水球等多个大项比拼后，金牌榜与奖牌榜随之出炉，中国队与美国队都获得18枚金牌，美国队以18金14银17铜位居奖牌榜第一，中国队则以18金2银8铜名列奖牌榜第二位。         Photo: Courtesy of AG.ALThe 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) concluded in Paris on Sunday local time, with Chinese esports club AG.AL (under Chengdu AG Esports Club) claiming the overall club championship. It became the first Chinese club to win the title since the tournament's launch, with French President Emmanuel Macron presenting the championship trophy.
AG.AL's victory was not decided until the final stage of the competition. In the last event, Trackmania, French player Gwen held his nerve under pressure to claim the title, helping AG.AL overtake Saudi Arabian club Team Falcons in the standings and secure the overall championship.
This victory reflects a new trend in global esports competition: competition among top clubs is no longer determined solely by one popular game or a single star player, but by a club's overall capabilities in multi-title strategy, talent development and global operations.
For AG, the title was not just a last-minute breakthrough, but the result of a global strategy that had been developed over years.
"Although the tournament itself lasted only around two months, we had been preparing for it for more than two years," Chen Longsheng (EDDY), AG.AL VP&COO, told the Global Times on Monday. He said AG began expanding its overseas esports operations around the EWC in 2024, selecting promising players from around the world and now covering more than 20 esports titles.
This multi-title strategy is also closely linked to EWC's unique competition format. Unlike traditional esports tournaments that often focus on a single major game, EWC adopts a club-based ranking system covering multiple titles, including Honor of Kings, CrossFire, and Trackmania. AG.AL competed in more than 10 events, accumulating points across different competitions before completing its comeback in the final stage, according to AG.
Chen said the format has also changed how clubs evaluate the value of different esports titles.
"From our perspective, there is no absolute distinction between major and minor titles. As long as players in a game have the ability and passion, they can help the club earn valuable points," he said.
He noted that titles such as Tekken and Trackmania may have smaller audiences compared with some mainstream esports games, but outstanding players in these fields can still become important contributors to a club's championship ambitions because they offer the same opportunity to earn crucial points.
Under this new competitive environment, esports clubs are also shifting from building teams around a single title toward developing more diverse talent systems.
However, for an esports club competing on the global stage, finding the right players is only the first step. Building a stable team among players from different countries and regions, while ensuring smooth operations at international tournaments, also tests a club's management capabilities.
"Cross-border operations involve challenges including language communication, contract arrangements, legal regulations, and player support," Chen said. "Different countries have different legal environments and salary systems, and coordinating all of these issues is actually very complicated." 
According to AG, during this year's EWC, staff members followed the teams throughout the process, from players' arrival in Paris, to training arrangements, communication with tournament organizers, post-match interviews and their departure.
"Fans see the players on stage, but behind them there are many operations staff ensuring that the entire team runs smoothly," Chen said.
AG's own development journey also reflects the changes that have taken place in China's esports industry over the past two decades.
In 2001, AG's predecessor won the StarCraft title at the World Cyber Games (WCG) Grand Finals, earning China's first world-level esports gold medal. Twenty-five years later, AG once again reached the top of an international competition. But the way esports is contested has changed dramatically - from battles centered around individual games to competition among global clubs based on talent, operations, and broader ecosystems.
"Over the past two decades, Chinese esports have gradually moved beyond the era when success depended mainly on individual players or a single game title, and developed into a more mature ecosystem involving clubs, professional leagues, content creation, commercial partnerships, and international exchanges," Shanghai-based esports commentator Natto told the Global Times on Monday.
According to Natto, the growing international presence of Chinese esports clubs also reflects a broader change in how the industry views overseas markets.
"Going global is not only about sending teams abroad to compete," Natto said. "It also means understanding different audiences, building communication channels and allowing more people to see the diversity of Chinese esports."
。本届世锦赛共有来自约180个国家和地区的2000多名选手参赛。

二 | 中国队此次派出了游泳、跳水和花样游泳三支队伍参加。中国跳水队此番包揽了跳水项目全部13个单项金牌，另外还获得2银2铜，再次展现出“梦之队”的实力。这是中国跳水队首次在海外举办的世锦赛上包揽全部项目金牌，上一次实现包揽还是2011年在本土进行的上海世锦赛。

三 | 另外值得一提的是，中国跳水队的世锦赛金牌总数也突破100枚，达到了106枚。

四 |

东京奥运会后，中国跳水队进行人员更替，施廷懋、王涵、谢思埸、陈艾森等奥运冠军淡出赛场，此番中国队派出老中青搭档阵容参赛，旨在以巴黎奥运会为目标，通过比赛锻炼队伍、发现问题、找出短板。一众小将迅速成长。王宗源以超强实力和超高分数在男子单人三米板、双人三米板和一米板成就“三冠王”，陈芋汐与全红婵以绝对优势包揽女子十米台冠亚军，还搭档获得双人跳台冠军。全红婵临危受命与同为15岁的白钰鸣搭档出战混合全能夺冠，为中国队夺得世锦赛历史上第100枚金牌。李亚杰、段宇、朱子锋等全新面孔崭露头角，在非奥项目上夺冠。中生代力量走向成熟。女子三米板陈艺文夺冠，为中国队实现了该项目世锦赛11连冠，她还与昌雅妮合作夺得双人冠军，成为施廷懋后又一个女子三米跳板“双冠王”。练俊杰与杨昊搭档夺得男子双人十米台金牌，弥补了中国队在东京奥运会错失该项目金牌的遗憾。28岁的杨健和27岁的曹缘坚守赛场，本次世锦赛都有金牌入账，“宝刀未老”的他们也将目标瞄准了两年后的巴黎奥运会。

五 | 中国花样游泳队参加了自1986年以来的历届世锦赛，本届比赛中国花样游泳大放异彩，以4金2铜创历史成绩收官，在双人、集体四个项目中全部夺冠，混双两个项目均斩获铜牌。外界不免称赞，世界花游进入“中国时代”。虽然花游霸主俄罗斯队的缺席一定程度上“成就”了中国花游的历史性突破，但中国队早已厚积薄发，在不断磨砺中跻身世界顶尖行列——2008年北京奥运会中国队获得集体铜牌创造历史，此后在伦敦、里约、东京连续三届奥运会摘银。

六 | 正如中国队教练组组长张晓欢所言，对手在进步、项目在发展、规则在变化，积极适应新规则、发挥自己的特长、做好吃苦准备，才能在巴黎奥运会上有更好的表现，最大的对手只有自己。本届世锦赛中国游泳队表现低迷，仅以1金4铜收官。杨浚瑄、汤慕涵分别获得女子200米自由泳冠军和季军，张雨霏则夺得女子50米蝶泳、100米蝶泳和200米蝶泳三个项目铜牌。

七 | 中国队与上届光州世锦赛3金2银2铜的成绩相比退步不少，尤其是在男子项目上颗粒无收，这是自2003年世锦赛以来中国男队再次陷入无奖牌入账的境地。连夺3枚铜牌的奥运冠军张雨霏坦言，赛前训练不系统，状态没有调整到最佳，这或许是中国游泳表现低迷的原因之一。不过，虽有遗憾，但也有惊喜——17岁小将潘展乐男子100米自由泳追平全国纪录并跻身世锦赛决赛，这是时隔7年中国男队再次有运动员在百米自由泳比赛中打破48秒大关，他的突飞猛进成为中国游泳在本届世锦赛的一大惊喜。(完)