Esports Nations Cup reportedly extends roster announcement timeline

While all participating nations had to confirm their players for the Esports Nations Cup by May 10, the organization had initially set May 22 as the final deadline to review and validate every submitted profile. However, the process could end up taking longer than expected, as the Esports Foundation, which oversees the competition, reportedly presented an extended communication plan to national representatives, ranging from May 25 for Rainbow Six Siege announcements to July 15 for Honor of Kings and PUBG MOBILE.

The profile verification process, initially expected to cover only around a dozen players, may ultimately turn into a much longer and more complex operation. In addition to reviewing multiple game titles, major esports such as League of Legends and VALORANT reportedly feature close to 90 participating nations each, with rosters of five to seven players per game. Even in Sheep Esports’ reports regarding the coaches selected by nations competing in the Esports Nations Cup, the scale of the operation already appeared significant.

The process is reportedly becoming even more extensive, as the EF explained that publishers and the Esports Integrity Commission are also involved in these player reviews. While unofficial and not formally recognized, the ESIC remains an established organization within the esports ecosystem, particularly active in Counter-Strike and Dota 2. The commission is also partnered with Moonton, the studio behind Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, one of the biggest successes in mobile esports. As a result, these additional checks and reviews may have contributed to the extended timeline for roster announcements across the different titles.

According to the TESFED, the Turkish Esports Federation, which shared the communication plan, “this schedule has been determined by the Esports Foundation for all participating countries and regions.” As such:

It should be noted that the May 25 date presented by the Turkish federation conflicts with the dates announced, on X, by Argentina and Hungary, both of which revealed May 28 for Rainbow Six. As a result, these dates may not necessarily be mandatory deadlines, but rather the point from which nations are allowed to communicate about a specific game.

For the other titles that were not mentioned, the situation is different, as games such as CS2, Apex Legends, or even Chess do not feature national team selections but rather nation-based qualification tournaments used to determine the participants. These teams will therefore not be revealed immediately, and it will be necessary to wait until the end of the qualifiers to know the names of the participating squads.