Think of it like the World Cup, but for League of Legends. The Esports Nations Cup takes professional and collegiate players, sorts them by nationality instead of club affiliation, and pits countries against each other. And in the online qualifiers that ran June 19-21, two well-known organizations saw their entire five-player rosters show up under their respective national flags.
G2 Esports and RED Canids each had all five of their players competing in the ENC 2026 qualifiers. Maryville University, the collegiate esports powerhouse, had five players participate from its nine-player roster.
How the Esports Nations Cup works
The ENC 2026 finals are scheduled for November 21-29 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a $1.5 million prize pool on the line for the LoL competition. Up to 32 teams will compete at the finals, meaning 32 different nations fielding their best available talent.
Of those 32 slots, 14 were up for grabs through the online qualifier stage. The remaining teams will receive direct invitations based on ENC rankings derived from official Riot Games results.
