In a surprise announcement made on the morning of August 18 in Europe, the Esports Foundation, which oversees the
Esports Nations Cup, announced that its inaugural edition would be postponed from November 2026 to November 2027. In a statement released alongside the announcement, the Saudi organizing committee said the decision came “
following ongoing assessment of the wider regional situation, and after consultation with key stakeholders.”
The inaugural edition was originally scheduled to take place from November 2 to 29, featuring 16 games including
League of Legends, VALORANT, Rocket League and Counter-Strike, with around 100 nations expected to participate overall.
What’s next for the ENC?
Announced in August 2025, the ENC was set to become the little sister of the Esports World Cup, built around competitions featuring national teams instead of the traditional club-based competitions seen at the EWC. Since the beginning of the year, the organization had, therefore, been working on establishing national team management structures through the National Team Manager and National Team Partner systems.
Since late May,
qualifiers have taken place across the globe, concluding on August 16 with Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, meaning that all qualified nations and teams were already known. Since May, all rosters across every game and nation had also been locked, leaving numerous questions unanswered for 2027. The Foundation also addressed this point, stating: “
Over the coming weeks, EF will continue working closely with National Team Partners, publishers and other stakeholders to provide clarity on the revised competition calendar, qualification pathways and other implications of the new timeline.”
“was not taken lightly”
Alongside the announcement, Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports Foundation, also commented on the change, saying that “the decision to postpone the Esports Nations Cup was not taken lightly.” According to Reichert, “the response from National Team Partners, publishers, players, and communities around the world has shown us how much potential this competition has.”
Reichert continued by stating: “We owe them an inaugural ENC delivered under the right conditions and at the level this idea deserves.” The end of his message was intended to be reassuring, stating that the postponement would not change the commitments made by the Foundation to its existing partners, publishers and other stakeholders involved in the inaugural edition.
