New Zealand and Philippines qualify to ENC 2026 LoL tournament through SEA and OCE qualifier

New Zealand and the Philippines are the first two teams to qualify for the 2026 League of Legends Esports Nations Cup, after battling their way through the Southeast Asian and Oceanic qualifiers. There, they competed against seven other teams over three days to secure their spots.

New Zealand completed their run in dominant fashion, going 5–0 overall and defeating Singapore in a best-of-three to secure an upper-bracket qualification. The Philippines, meanwhile, had a more turbulent path. After losing to New Zealand in their second match, the Filipino delegation dropped into the lower bracket, where they narrowly avoided elimination twice against Malaysia and Australia. They ultimately reached the lower bracket final and swept Singapore in two quick games to secure qualification.

Together, the two teams are set to compete in the ENC Play-In stage alongside 22 other teams, eight of which were directly invited based on national team rankings. There, teams will be split into four groups of six, playing a double round-robin of best-of-one matches within their respective groups for a chance to earn one of two qualifying spots per group into the tournament’s main group stage.

What better way for New Zealand to qualify for the main event than by defeating their Oceanic rivals in the Australian delegation? Though often overlooked, New Zealand were the clear standout of the SEA and OCE qualifier.

Over the three days, the team cruised through the bracket without dropping a single game, taking down Brunei, Australia, the Philippines, and finally Singapore to secure their spot. Their opening match was a swift 24-minute victory, with NZL effectively outclassing Brunei in nearly every aspect—a feat they later repeated against Australia, a somewhat surprising result given Australia’s historical dominance in the OCE region.

With matches played in a best-of-one format, it is difficult to fully gauge New Zealand’s level, but their consistency throughout the event is hard to ignore. Their game against the Philippines proved more challenging, stretching to 38 minutes, with the Filipino topside creating significant pressure even if NZL ultimately came out on top. Singapore, who finished 0–4 in qualification matches, showed slightly more resistance in game one, but New Zealand quickly closed out game two in another dominant display.

A country that has unfortunately had little room to shine in recent years, Filipino League of Legends fans can now rejoice at their representation at ENC 2026. Even though the team struggled and came close to elimination multiple times, the delegation ultimately held on and secured qualification for the event.

Early in the qualifiers, the Philippines opened with a strong sub-20-minute victory against Guam, but quickly ran into trouble. They were taken down in 38 minutes by New Zealand, dropping them into the lower bracket, where they narrowly avoided elimination against Malaysia following a strong performance from their opponents’ mid-jungle duo. Fortunately, the squad eventually rebounded, defeating Australia and proving that SEA can stand its ground against OCE in a 40-minute victory, powered by Reven “Relhia” Lhi Aloit’s top-lane Akali.

Finally, with momentum on their side, Singapore proved no match, and the Philippines closed out their qualification by stomping their final opponent in two back-to-back games.

New Zealand and the Philippines will now compete in the 2026 ENC Play-In stage, starting on November 21. Until then, both teams will need to prepare and refine their play if they want to replicate the results of their regional qualifiers when they face some of the best teams in the world.