Guatemala, New Zealand and Mongolia Shock the World in League of Legends Qualifiers for Esports Nations Cup 2026

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (June 24, 2026) - The Esports Foundation (EF) today announced the completion of the online regional qualifiers for the League of Legends tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC), the global nation-based esports competition set to debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2-29, 2026.

A total of 32 teams will compete in the League of Legends tournament at ENC 2026. 16 countries and territories received direct invitations through the ENC Rankings last week, which use points obtained from competing in official Riot Games tournaments.

Now, 14 more teams have earned their spot in the main event through online regional qualifiers across Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Middle East/Africa, North America, South America, and Southeast Asia/Oceania. An additional slot has gone to the team representing Saudi Arabia, who secured the Host Region Wildcard as the next highest-placing competitor from the GCC region.

To complete the line-up, one Solidarity Wildcard slot remains for an underrepresented region to compete on the world stage, which will be announced at the end of August once all ENC qualifiers have been completed.

Here’s the full list of countries and territories that qualified through online regional qualifiers:

Asia: Hong Kong China, Mongolia

Eastern Europe: Lithuania, Romania

Western Europe: Germany, Belgium

Middle East/Africa: Algeria, Tunisia

North America: Mexico, Guatemala

South America: Chile, Peru

Southeast Asia/Oceania: New Zealand, Philippines

Host Region Slot: Saudi Arabia

The regional qualifiers in League of Legends were highlighted by heroic performances from teams across the world. New Zealand traveled to Malaysia through their NTP to compete closer to the rest of the field, and went on a dominant run through the SEA/Oceanic qualifier, capped off by a decisive 2-0 win over Singapore. Mongolia showed incredible tenacity with a lower bracket run that ended with a comeback 2-1 series victory over Japan, who had beaten them earlier in the qualifier, to claim one of the two spots out of Asia. And in the final hours of the last qualifier day, Guatemala rallied from an 0-1 start and an early deficit in game two, coming all the way back in a 50 minute marathon in game two, forcing a third game which they’d win against Costa Rica to secure the final ENC qualifier spot.

One of the most beloved and versatile stars of both Europe and North America, Bwipo, led Belgium to one of the two Western Europe slots, recovering from a loss to ENC-bound Germany with wins against Switzerland, Portugal, and the Netherlands. The future of League of Legends in Europe was on display during the qualifiers, with players from the academy/regional league teams for G2, Team Vitality, and Karmine Corp competing and qualifying with Germany, Romania, and Algeria.

The full list of qualified players and nations can be viewed directly on the League of Legends page of the ENC website.

The League of Legends tournament at ENC will begin on November 21 and will conclude with the Grand Final on November 29. The first stage will be a 24-team Play-In stage featuring the teams ranked 9-16 from the invites and all 16 qualifier teams playing in a double round-robin group stage. The two teams from each group will advance to the main Group Stage, and compete against the top eight teams from the invites in a single round-robin group stage. The top two teams from each Group Stage group will advance to the Playoffs, a single-elimination bracket concluding with a best-of-five Grand Final.

About the Esports Nations Cup

The Esports Nations Cup (ENC) is a biennial global esports competition created by the Esports Foundation (EF) that brings national pride to the world stage. Launching in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2026, the ENC will feature the world’s best players competing not for their clubs, but for their countries and territories, across a lineup of leading esports titles. Built in collaboration with game partners, clubs, and esports organizations, the ENC establishes the first recurring, large-scale platform for national teams in esports. Beyond competition, it aims to fuel fandom, inspire heroes, and provide sustainable pathways for nations, players, and partners to grow within the global esports ecosystem. esportsnationscup.com

Esports Nations Cup media contact:
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