17 Gaming crowned GOTF 2026 Battle Royale champions

It’s been a wild ride at this year’s Battle Royale PUBG: Battlegrounds presented by Alatau City Bank, with the top spot constantly changing over three days of competition.

So it was to be expected that the final day would come down to the wire. There were 16 teams battling for supremacy but in the end 17 Gaming held on to their overnight lead and became the first trophy winners at Games of the Future 2026 powered by Samruk-Kazyna.

GAM The Expendables and Team Vitality had been close behind at the beginning of the session but in the end had to settle for second and third place respectively.

The champion’s victory was mainly down to their exceptional fragging power, with 78 of their 131 total points coming from eliminations. Claiming the US$300,000 first prize – and the trophy – 17 Gaming team member Luo Shenguin described their victory as “So, so amazing!”

GAM The Expendables finished the tournament 11 points behind on 120, but Duc Hieu Duong said he and his teammates were still proud of their performance.

"17 Gaming are worthy champions, but we performed very well. The circles favoured us, and we brought all the energy and power of our team. Finishing second is amazing."

Artem Baskakov of Team Vitality, who had been leading the scoreboard after the first day, admitted to feeling a little disappointed at their 106 points and losing out on the title. Afterwards, he said:

"Day three was rough for us. We didn't get many favorable shifts, but we did our best to collect points from the edge. Even so, our performance was good enough to finish in the top three."

Twisted Minds finished fourth with 105 points while Geekay Sports and Team Falcons were joint fifth on 101 points.
Here’s how the final, dramatic day unfolded.

Match One

Several teams opted for an aggressive start, leading to early exits but the action centred around a single outbuilding controlled by Twisted Minds, who faced constant pressure but held firm, winning key engagements and eliminating every challenger. Their defensive masterclass earned them the Chicken Dinner and 13 kill points. The match strengthened 17 Gaming's overall lead over Team Vitality to 11 points.

Match Two

Miramar once again delivered intense action as Twisted Minds secured another strong compound position but were later caught out while rotating into the safe zone. 17 Gaming put together an impressive mid-game run, collecting 13 eliminations before eventually falling. GAM The Expendables seized control of the closing circles, eliminating their rivals to secure the Chicken Dinner and 13 kills. The victory moved them into second place overall, narrowing the gap to leaders 17 Gaming and pushing Team Vitality into third.

Match Three

Another aggressive start by some team – with Made in Thailand eliminating a R8 player within the first two minutes. As the field shrank to eight teams, the championship battle intensified. 17 Gaming remained alive with just two players, while DN SOOPers launched a devastating attack to wipe GAM The Expendables. Although 17 Gaming were eliminated shortly afterwards, they still gained a valuable point on their closest rivals. The final battle saw Anyone's Legend face DN SOOPers with full rosters. DN SOOPers proved too strong, securing their second Chicken Dinner of the tournament with a dominant all-round performance.

Match Four

With momentum building towards the last match, teams adopted a more measured approach early on. However, the battle was soon on, especially when Team Vitality also made a statement by eliminating Team Falcons during a strong mid-game showing.

As the circle shrank, the fight for those all-important points and kills intensified. The match came down to a finale where GeeKay Esports won a decisive 3v3 fight to secure the Chicken Dinner.

Match Five

The final match began cautiously, but the action soon erupted. DN SOOPers and Team Vitality suffered early losses, while JD Gaming inflicted heavy damage on GeeKay Esports. T1 later eliminated DN SOOPers, ending their tournament run, and an explosive engagement wiped out the remaining GeeKay Esports players.

JD Gaming continued their resurgence by eliminating Full Sense, while Anyone's Legend removed DiGA Esports and Twisted Minds defeated Shadow Esports. A crucial clash followed between JD Gaming and Twisted Minds, with JD Gaming emerging victorious and ending Twisted Minds' challenge.

The final four featured Team Falcons, GAM The Expendables, 17 Gaming and surprise contenders R8. Team Falcons eliminated GAM The Expendables before 17 Gaming fell moments later. The final fight came down to Team Falcons and R8, with Team Falcons claiming the last Chicken Dinner while R8 secured their best result of the event with second place. However, by this point 17 Gaming had already done enough to secure the title.

Battle Royale PUBG: Battlegrounds may be over but you can relive all matches and the highlights on Phygital+, the official Games of the Future streaming platform. The quarterfinals at MOBA PC presented by Centercredit will start from 10:00 on Monday, as well as the third-place match and the final of Phygital Basketball presented by Halyk Fund from 18:00. All times are local Astana times.

Alongside Phygital+, Games of the Future 2026 is being broadcast by leading media partners across the globe, including Fox Sports Mexico (Mexico), StarTimes (Africa), BIGG TV (France/Worldwide), ESR TV (USA/Worldwide), Play TV (Brazil), Unbeaten (Australia) and QazSport (Kazakhstan), ensuring fans around the world can follow the action as it unfolds.

The Games of the Future experience continues beyond the live action, with celebrity host Matt Richardson bringing fans exclusive behind-the-scenes access, updates and highlights throughout the tournament via @gamesofthefutureofficial.