diff --git a/e2e/browser-v3/arena/ARENA.md b/e2e/browser-v3/arena/ARENA.md
index 8cdce427..8669910e 100644
--- a/e2e/browser-v3/arena/ARENA.md
+++ b/e2e/browser-v3/arena/ARENA.md
@@ -586,6 +586,15 @@ replacement is strictly safer than the click it replaces).
 
 Order: v37 then v36, sequential, immediately after the Claude chore column finishes (auto-chained).
 
+VERDICTS (2026-08-16):
+- **v36 escape token: PASS — 3/8 targets flipped (click-collapsible-2 AND -nodelay, both
+  never-won hard-cluster residents, + click-dialog-2_login-user-popup), controls 12/12.** First
+  competitor ingestion to clear its gate. PROMOTED: v40 champion = v35 stack + escape_token.
+- v37 note scratchpad: fail on short-horizon proxies (0/8; controls 12/12 — mechanism safe,
+  never harmful). Honest reading: the gate words rarely trigger on these tasks and short tasks
+  don't need durable memory; the REAL test is chore-scale aggregation, which needs an uncapped
+  chore rerun (expensive, deferred). Flag stays off in champion until that evidence exists.
+
 ## Open-source / SOTA reference points (2026 leaderboards, for honest comparison)
 
 - WebArena: SOTA WebTactix/DeepSeek-v3.2 74.3%; frontier models 64-68%; human 78. (leaderboard.steel.dev)
diff --git a/e2e/browser-v3/arena/llm_policy.py b/e2e/browser-v3/arena/llm_policy.py
index 4b72d311..e86b9d85 100644
--- a/e2e/browser-v3/arena/llm_policy.py
+++ b/e2e/browser-v3/arena/llm_policy.py
@@ -999,6 +999,15 @@ def build(name: str, model: str = "", endpoint: str = "", **_: Any) -> Any:
                                   scripted_drag=True, auto_complete=True, som=False,
                                   native_pickers=True, verify_terminal=True, post_mouse_vision=True,
                                   multi_cap=6, fill_verify=True, **v17)
+    if name == "osw-llm-v40":  # CHAMPION: v35 stack + v36 escape token (first passed ingestion)
+        v40 = dict(v7, system=OSW_SYSTEM_V8 + OSW_SYSTEM_V9_WIDGETS + OSW_SYSTEM_V16 + OSW_SYSTEM_V30
+                   + OSW_SYSTEM_V36, max_tokens=800)
+        return OpenSwarmLlmPolicy(name=name, multi=True, vision="progressive", fastpath=True,
+                                  scripted_drag=True, auto_complete=True, som=False,
+                                  native_pickers=True, verify_terminal=True, post_mouse_vision=True,
+                                  multi_cap=6, fill_verify=True, dispatch=True, offscreen=True,
+                                  local_ctx=True, blocker_probe=True, suppress_wrappers=True,
+                                  force_unblock=True, native_js_fallback=True, escape_token=True, **v40)
     if name == "osw-llm-v39":  # v35 + mutation-diff action feedback (Agent-E observer, text-side)
         v39 = dict(v7, system=OSW_SYSTEM_V8 + OSW_SYSTEM_V9_WIDGETS + OSW_SYSTEM_V16 + OSW_SYSTEM_V30,
                    max_tokens=800)