Paris, August 09, 2026, SPA -- From the heart of Paris, where the Esports World Cup competitions are underway, the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) is showcasing a pavilion presenting details of the inaugural tournament, set to take place in Riyadh from November 2 to 29, 2026, across 16 games. The pavilion coincides with the Esports World Cup Foundation's launch of the global qualifier pathway "Road to the Esports Nations Cup," establishing qualification routes for national teams.

The pavilion gives visitors the opportunity to learn about the tournament's identity and qualification stages, as national team jerseys are progressively unveiled, giving the tournament a distinctly national character ahead of its launch in Riyadh. In a notable moment, the Saudi national team jersey will be unveiled on September 23, coinciding with Saudi Arabia's National Day.

More than 100,000 players from more than 150 countries and territories are expected to participate in hundreds of qualifying events throughout 2026, competing for the chance to represent their nations in the finals.

The tournament's 16 games adopt different qualification models suited to each game's nature. Team competitions cover nine games including Dota 2, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, PUBG: Battlegrounds, PUBG MOBILE, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, and VALORANT Counter-Strike 2 and Apex Legends allow players to form and register their own teams before competing in online qualifiers, while Street Fighter 6 uses an individual qualification system. Chess, EA SPORTS FC, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, and Trackmania combine open qualifiers with ranking-based invitations, with a maximum of two players per country in each game's finals.
The qualification pathway is accompanied by the launch of the interactive Team Builder platform, allowing players, coaches, managers, and fans to explore team formations and build virtual teams, while tracking how selections affect national rankings and qualification routes.