Honor of Kings Revamps Tournament Calendar for 2026 Season

Level Infinite and Tencent Games announced a restructured 2026 esports calendar for Honor of Kings (HOK), moving the game's Nation Clash tournament ahead of its World Cup event at Esports World Cup in a bid to streamline the competitive season.

The schedule adjustment marks a departure from this year's format, when Nation Clash wrapped up in late October at Kuala Lumpur's Quill City Convention Centre. By advancing the tournament to spring, the publisher aims to compress the qualification window between its seasonal competitions.

The revised HOK calendar preserves the game's five-tier tournament structure, including the Honor of Kings Invitational Season 4, spring and fall Regional League seasons, Nation Clash, World Cup and the year-end International Championship. Regional leagues will expand to include separate competitions in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil, serving as qualification pathways for the mid-season World Cup and season-ending International Championship.

Honor of Kings Esports Viewership and Revenue Growth

Honor of Kings has emerged as a significant mobile gaming property, generating substantial revenue across iOS and Google Play platforms. According to Esports Charts, the 2025 World Cup drew a peak viewership of 653,309 concurrent viewers, accumulating 3.65 million total viewing hours.

The game's commercial performance was underscored in Tencent's second-quarter 2025 earnings report, which highlighted Honor of Kings as a major revenue driver. The title generated nearly $1.2 billion in monthly revenue during the first half of 2025 and was mentioned for the 35th time in Tencent's financial disclosures. By concentrating major tournaments in the second quarter, Level Infinite seeks to maximize broadcast value and attract sponsorship dollars. The publisher has committed $15 million to Honor of Kings esports this year.

The calendar realignment reflects a broader strategic effort to consolidate the competitive calendar while expanding the game's international presence, particularly as mobile esports continues to gain traction in emerging markets.