Esports Nations Cup 2025
Esports Nations Cup Launches in Riyadh in November 2026
Highlights
- The Esports Nations Cup, debuting in Riyadh 2026, will feature national esports teams competing in both solo and team-based game formats.
- The tournament uses global rankings, regional qualifiers, and Wildcard spots to ensure diverse representation and balanced competition across all participating countries.
- Following Riyadh’s inaugural event, the ENC will rotate hosts biennially, providing worldwide fans access to high-level national team esports competition.
The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has announced the Esports Nations Cup (ENC), a new global esports tournament set for November 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This tournament will be the first of its kind at such a scale, featuring national teams competing across various games. Players from regions including North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Africa, Asia, and Southeast Asia & Oceania will participate in both team and solo formats. Leading game publishers Electronic Arts, Krafton, Tencent, and Ubisoft are partnering with the EWCF to develop national ranking systems, qualification events, and event formats for the ENC.
The EWCF Will Offer Equal Prize Money For All Games
A multi-step qualification system will combine global rankings, regional qualifiers, and Wildcard entries to ensure competitive balance and broad representation. All players will receive prize money, with equal rewards across games to maintain fairness. The ENC will be hosted every two years and plans to rotate its location worldwide after the inaugural event in Riyadh.
This tournament builds on the momentum of the EWCF’s flagship event, the Esports World Cup (EWC), which is the largest multi-game esports tournament globally. The EWC was officially established in 2023 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and held its first event in 2024, also in Riyadh. The annual EWC features over 2,000 players and 200 clubs from more than 100 countries competing across 24 titles, with a total prize pool exceeding $70 million. The EWC introduced a club championship format where esports organizations compete across multiple games for a major prize and recognition.
By establishing the ENC, the EWCF aims to expand esports competition to a national team level, providing new opportunities for countries to develop their esports ecosystems. The introduction of national pride and representation adds a new dynamic to the global esports scene, complementing the club-based competition of the Esports World Cup and encouraging long-term investment in national esports programs.
Author
Abhimannu Das is a web journalist at Outlook India with a focus on Indian pop culture, gaming, and esports. He has over 10 years of journalistic experience and over 3,500 articles that include industry deep dives, interviews, and SEO content. He has worked on a myriad of games and their ecosystems, including Valorant, Overwatch, and Apex Legends.
Abhimannu Das is a web journalist at Outlook India with a focus on Indian pop culture, gaming, and esports. He has over 10 years of journalistic experience and over 3,500 articles that include industry deep dives, interviews, and SEO content. He has worked on a myriad of games and their ecosystems, including Valorant, Overwatch, and Apex Legends.
