What could China’s roster look like for the Esports Nations Cup?

The Esports Nations Cup (ENC) will feature League of Legends among its titles and will take place in Saudi Arabia from November 21 to 29. A total of 32 national teams will compete for a $1.5 million prize pool. The tournament lineup will include 16 directly invited nations, 14 teams qualifying through regional qualifiers, and two Wild Card entries.

China are a very serious contender to reach the final and potentially compete for the title, as few teams could realistically stand in their way aside from Korea. The League of Legends Pro League (LPL) is one of the biggest leagues in the world, one of the most successful internationally, and features a large number of top-tier players who will do everything to bring a title back to their country.

Sheep Esports therefore takes a closer look at what the Chinese roster could potentially look like for this competition. It is worth noting that teams will not be allowed to field more than three players from the same organization, meaning the four Chinese players from will not all be able to participate together.

For the toplane, our choice fell on Li “” Xuan-Jun, Anyone’s Legend’s toplaner. At 27 years old, he has been at the peak of his form since last year. The 2021 World Champion was selected to the LPL All-Pro Team in Split 1 2026, and he is the only player from AL included in our LPL roster for the ENC.

Several other names also warrant consideration, such as Chen "" Ze-Bin, who would have been the obvious favorite if the three-players-per-team rule did not exist, Bai "" Jia-Hao from Top Esports, or even Xu "" Xing-Zu, who has been enjoying a strong start to the year.

The best jungler in China is arguably Lee "" Seung-yong, but the LPL Split 1 Regular Season MVP (Most Valuable Player) is Korean. China still has a top-tier option in Peng "" Li-Xun, the BLG jungler who returned to the organization and remains at a very high level. Other junglers are also in contention, including Invictus Gaming’s Yan "Wei" Yang-Wei and Weibo Gaming’s Zhao "Jiejie" Li-Jie.

The midlane also features several strong candidates, but the selected player is inevitably Zhuo "" Ding. The LPL’s record holder with seven titles, he has lifted at least a trophy four years in a row and shows no signs of slowing down. In Brazil, he will be chasing his second international trophy after winning the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) in 2022 with JD Gaming.

Other potential names who could be selected or considered as substitutes include Cui "Shanks" Xiao-Jun, Lin "Creme" Jian, and Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao. Like its Korean counterpart, the Chinese midlane is a ruthless battleground that leaves little room for error. All of these players have, at one point or another, proven their value at the top of the LPL and on the international stage.

Four names strongly stand out for the AD Carry role: Zhao "" Jia-Hao, Chen "GALA" Wei, Wang "Hope" Jie, and Yu "JackeyLove" Wen-Bo, depending on the form he returns in. GALA had a very strong Split and it will be interesting to see how the rest of his year unfolds, but our choice goes to Elk.

The Weibo Gaming botlaner spent a significant amount of time with BLG, meaning he already has established synergy with Xun and Knight, as well as with the support selected for this roster.

In the support role, our pick is naturally Luo "" Wen-Jun, who in our view should accompany Elk, recreating a botlane that worked very well during their time with BLG. In the LPL, he was selected to the second All-Pro Team, finishing behind Anyone’s Legend Korean support Kim "Kael" Jin-hong.

Other supports could of course also contend for the role. Zhao "Vampire" Zhe-Can has had a strong start to the year with JD Gaming and could potentially form a duo with GALA. Tian "Meiko" Ye, currently on a break, could also fill the role thanks to his vast experience.