Riot Games confirmed League of Legends for the 2026 Esports Nations Cup, which takes place in November 2026. A total of 32 national rosters will compete.
The Esports Nations Cup Format
The tournament runs from November 21 to November 26. The event begins with a 32-team bracket. First, 24 teams fight through the Play-in stage, where organisers split them into four groups of six. Each group plays a double round-robin format, with all matches set as best-of-one.
The top two teams from each group move into the Group Stage. There, they join eight seeded teams who enter the competition at this point. In the Group Stage, organisers divide the 16 teams into four groups of four. Each group plays a best-of-three round-robin. The top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs.
Eight teams then enter a single-elimination playoff bracket. All matches are best-of-three, except for the Grand Final, which is best-of-five.
Qualification and Team Selection for ENC League of Legends
16 sides will be given a direct invite to the event, which will be based on the ENC national team ranking. The top eight of these will go directly to the Group Stage, with the remaining eight going into the Play-in stage. The remaining 14 slots will be done via a regional online qualifier, while two Wildcard slots will be reserved.
The Wildcard slots will be decided by the Esports Nations Cup, and will take into consideration ENC national team ranking and “global and regional LoL competitions.” Official Riot Games competition will be used to decide these points for the first year of the ENC.
The qualifiers will take place from June 19th to June 21st, with a double-elimination bracket being used. The best roster from each region will then qualify until the regional slot allocation is reached, as shown below.
- North America (2 slots)
- South America (2)
- Europe West (2)
- Europe East (2)
- Southeast Asia + Oceania (2)
- Asia (2)
- Middle East + Africa (2)
League of Legends is the latest game announced for the ENC in November 2026. The event includes games like Valorant, Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, and many more, with a combined $20 million in prize pool on the line.