VALORANT joins the Esports Nations Cup 2026 lineup

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The Esports Nations Cup in 2026 will now include VALORANT, allowing teams from 32 different countries to compete and demonstrate their talent.

The Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC) will now include VALORANT as one of its official games. This means players will have the chance to compete for their countries, representing their national flags in Riyadh. The tournament will bring together 32 nations, all vying for the title of top region in VALORANT.

Esports Nations Cup 2026: VALORANT tournament

I’m so excited to hear that VALORANT is going to be played at the Esports Nations Cup! It’s amazing that they’re including our game, and it’s going to be held in Saudi Arabia from November 8th to 15th, 2026. Can’t wait to see the competition!

The tournament begins with 32 teams split into four groups of eight, where they’ll play a round-robin format. The best four teams from each group will then move on to a 16-team playoff bracket. During the initial group stage, all matches will be a single game. In the playoffs, matches will be best-of-three games, except for the final match, which will be a best-of-five series.

The Esports Nation Cup will invite teams directly based on a new VALORANT National Team Ranking system. This ranking considers performance in both regional and international VALORANT Champions Tour events. Points earned will be split equally among all players on the team who competed.

The first stage of the competition, the regional qualifiers, will be held from June 26th to 28th. Each region will hold a double-elimination tournament at the following locations:

  • North America (2 slots) 
  • South America (2)
  • Western Europe (2)
  • Easter Europe (2)
  • Middle East and North Africa (2)
  • Asia (2)
  • Southeast Asia and Oceania (2)

Prize pool

The Esports Nations Cup 2026 will include 16 different games, and the full list will be revealed soon.

The Esports Nations Cup 2026 will offer a total of $20 million in prize money to the competing countries. In addition to the prizes, $20 million will be used to help develop esports in those regions, and another $5 million will be given to organizations that allow their players to compete on behalf of their nations.

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2026-02-20 20:41