Esports World Cup Foundation unveils Esports Nations Cup Details

The Esports World Cup Foundation unveiled additional details and a rough qualification process for the Esports Nations Cup, set to become the largest international esports tournament in history.

Set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November, the Esports Nations Cup 2026 will be the inaugural multi-game, nation-based esports tournament.

It is an expansion of the Esports World Cup, with participants representing their countries rather than the clubs they play for.

https://twitter.com/ENC_EN/status/2008555399549788480

The official announcement of the format, revealed this week, confirmed that the event will feature 16 esports titles, played across four weeks. However, there are no names yet.

The post confirmed that the games at the Esports Nations Cup will come from Electronic Arts, Krafton, Tencent, Ubisoft, SNK, Moonton, and Chess.com.

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This implies that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (Krafton), Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Moonton), Rainbow Six (Ubisoft), Apex Legends (EA), and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (SNK) will be a part of the lineup.

The presence of Chess.com effectively confirms chess as one of the titles, following its debut at the Esports World Cup in 2025.

So far, there is no confirmation on whether League of Legends or VALORANT will join the Nations Cup lineup, even though Tencent is involved. However, the two games have been a staple at the EWC since 2024.

Even though the Esports World Cup Foundation have yet to share exact details about the event, it was confirmed that between 24 and 48 national teams will compete per game, with solo and team-based formats.

Each nation will be able to field one team per game and up to two individual players in games where solo play is available.

While half of the spots at the Nations Cup will be allocated via direct invites, the other half will be awarded via open regional qualifiers.

Notably, the national teams participating in the Esports Nations Cup will have to consist of players from different teams. This is to ensure there are no major disparities in team synergy.

Most of the details about the Nations Cup remain a mystery. However, with 10 months to go before the inaugural edition of the event, there is plenty of time for specifics such as the dates, formats, and criteria, as well as a complete list of games ot be announced.

Being the biggest nation-based esports tournament in history, the Esports Nations Cup is sure to receive coverage from the top-rated esports bookmakers. So esports fans can expect to access outright markets for the event closer to its kick-off in November.