The Esports Nations Cup 2026 event has added VALORANT to its lineup, giving 32 nations the chance to showcase their skills.
Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC) event has officially added VALORANT to its games lineup, introducing a new tournament to the competitive calendar where players will represent their countries and compete under their national flags. Set to take place in Riyadh, ENC 2026 will feature 32 nations battling for the title of “best region."
Esports Nations Cup 2026: VALORANT tournament
VALORANT will officially be part of the ENC games lineup. The tournament will be happening in Saudi Arabia from Nov. 8 to Nov. 15.
The opening stage will feature 32 teams competing in a round-robin group phase, divided into four groups of eight. The top four teams from each group will advance to a 16-team single-elimination playoff bracket. All group stage matches will be played as best-of-one (Bo1) series. In the Playoffs, every match will be best-of-three (Bo3), except the grand final, which will be decided in a best-of-five (Bo5) series.
The ENC will determine "its direct invites via the newly created VALORANT National Team Rankings, which takes into account regional and international VALORANT Champions Tour competitions, with those points equally shared across all Club teammates who participated."
The regional qualifiers will take place from June 26 to June 28. Each region will host a double-elimination bracket in the following locations:
- North America (2 slots)
- South America (2)
- Western Europe (2)
- Easter Europe (2)
- Middle East and North Africa (2)
- Asia (2)
- Southeast Asia and Oceania (2)
Prize pool
ENC 2026 will feature a total of 16 titles, with organizers set to announce the remaining games at a later date.
The ENC 2026 event will award a $20 million prize pool to competing nations. It will also invest $20 million into the ENC Development Fund to support the growth of participating regions and distribute an additional $5 million to organizations that release players to represent their countries.
