The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has officially added VALORANT to the lineup for the upcoming Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC). The tournament, which will see 32 national teams compete for gold in Riyadh this November, aims to address the long-standing community debate regarding the world’s strongest region in the tactical shooter. This marks the 12th title announced for the multi-genre event, which is expected to feature a total of 16 games upon its debut.

The VALORANT competition is scheduled to run from November 8 to November 15, 2026. It will begin with a round-robin group stage featuring four pools of eight teams, with all matches played in a best-of-one format. The top four from each group will then advance to a single-elimination playoff bracket. Quarter-finals and semi-finals will be best-of-three, culminating in a best-of-five grand final to crown the inaugural national champion.

Qualification for the event will be determined through a combination of direct invites and regional pathways. The top 16 nations will receive direct invitations based on a newly established VALORANT National Team Rankings. This ranking system will aggregate points from regional and international VCT (VALORANT Champions Tour) competitions, shared equally among teammates, with the points of the top five players on a submitted national roster counting toward the country’s total. The cutoff date for these rankings is June 21, 2026.

Global Esports Industry Week (GEIW) will return in 2026 with a bigger and bolder edition, taking place across 18–21 June in Cologne, Germany, alongside IEM Cologne. The schedule and details about ticket sales are available in this link.

An additional 14 teams will secure their spots through online regional qualifiers scheduled for June 26-28. These double-elimination brackets will be hosted across eight regions, including North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Asia, and Southeast Asia + Oceania. The remaining two slots will be filled via Wildcard selections.

This announcement brings Riot Games into the ENC fold. With the game now confirmed for the Nations Cup, speculations on the potential addition of Riot’s flagship title, League of Legends, to the remaining four unannounced slots gain new traction.

Readers can follow The Esports Radar’s Live Tracker for the full list of confirmed games, competition dates, and updates on how countries are organising their national teams for the competition.

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