Sources: India appoints GodspeedxD as VALORANT Head Coach for ENC 2026

As expected for the vast majority of the competition’s titles, India will, of course, be present in VALORANT as part of the Esports Nations Cup 2026. According to sources close to Sheep Esports, Abhishek "GodspeedxD" Bajaj will be the head coach of the Indian national team for Riot Games’ FPS.

Having worked with numerous teams as both coach and head coach, especially in India, GodspeedxD has a strong understanding of the local ecosystem. In 2025, while at Velocity Gaming, he nearly swept everything, winning Split 1 and 3 of the Challengers South Asia and finishing third in the second split. VLT also went on to win the season’s Grand Finals, securing qualification for the Pacific Ascension tournament. In that VCT promotion event, the Indian organization did not go all the way, finishing in the Top 5/6. Since 2026, he has been operating as head coach of Revenant XSpark, another Indian organization.

Together with Akhil Kavuturu, India’s national manager for ENC 2026, GodspeedxD will have to build a roster made up of five players and two substitutes. However, the duo will have to respect the rule limiting each team to a maximum of three players from the same club, substitutes included. That said, they should still have plenty of options on the local scene, with many active clubs and players, including S8UL Esports, DOT EXE, or even Revenant, his actual organization. With 39 Indian players among the 45 participants in Challengers South Asia in 2026, the door is wide open and many combinations are possible.

Scheduled from November 2 to November 29 for its first edition in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, this nation-based competition, the largest in esports history, is expected to bring together thousands of players from around a hundred countries, competing across nearly 16 games. Alongside the VALORANT tournament, set to take place from November 8 to 15, there will also be national team competitions in Counter-Strike, Rocket League, and Rainbow Six Siege. For Riot Games’ FPS, 32 teams, each representing a nation, will compete on site.

Before that, participants still need to be determined. The Esports Foundation, which oversees the ENC and the Esports World Cup (two separate events), has decided that 16 of the 32 teams will directly qualify for the final tournament based on their representatives’ results in Riot Games’ official circuits. The remaining teams will go through seven regional qualifiers, each offering two spots. The final two slots will apparently be awarded by the ENC in the form of wildcards, likely at the discretion of the event organizer.