Esports World Cup Foundation announces new Nations Cup tournament

RIYADH: The Esports World Cup Foundation today announced the Esports Nations Cup, a landmark tournament where the best esports players in the world will compete not only for professional glory with their clubs, but also for the honor of representing their countries. 

The ENC introduces national pride to the global esports stage in a recurring format and is the first event of its kind at this scale.

“Nation vs. nation competition is the ultimate expression of sport,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation. “The ENC makes this a reality for esports, giving every fan a flag to rally behind and every player the pride of representing their country. It’s a stage to create heroes, inspire the next generation, and, together with our partners and stakeholders, build the national ecosystems that will accelerate the growth of esports worldwide.”

The inaugural edition will be co-developed with publishers and video game companies — Electronic Arts, Krafton, Tencent and Ubisoft. These partners bring the scale and insight essential to building a global competition for national teams that reflects the values and integrity of each game. Each will help shape their game’s national ranking systems, qualification pathways and event formats, ensuring the ENC resonates with their fans and meets the highest standards of competition.

The ENC will feature national teams from all major regions: North America, South America, Europe, MENA, Africa, Asia, and SEA & Oceania, competing in both team-based and solo-player formats. A multi-layered qualification model will balance competitiveness and inclusivity, combining global rankings, regional qualifiers and wildcard entries, including solidarity placements, to ensure a broad