Cameroon and Bahrain Make History in FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves Qualifiers for Esports Nations Cup 2026

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (July 2, 2026) - The Esports Foundation (EF) today announced the completion of the online regional qualifiers for the FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves 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 players will compete in the Dota 2 tournament at ENC 2026. 16 players representing 16 countries and territories received direct invitations through the official SNK World Championship 2026 Ranking system.

Now, 13 more players have earned their spot in the main event through online regional qualifiers across North America, Central America, Latin America North, Latin America South, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East, North Africa, Africa, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. An additional slot has gone to BlackAce from Bahrain, who secured the Host Region Wildcard as the next highest-placing competitor from the GCC region.

To complete the line-up, one Special Invite slot is reserved for the highest-ranked player from the People’s Republic of China in the SNK Championship Series, and one Wildcard Solidarity 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 players that qualified through online regional qualifiers:

North America: Ferno (United States of America)

Central America: Kula (Mexico)

Latin America North: Cheo1234 (Ecuador)

Latin America South: ChuChu (Brazil)

Western Europe: Sakon (Italy)

Eastern Europe: Nivek (Greece)

Middle East: Okami (Saudi Arabia)

North Africa: FREZZER (Morocco)

Africa: HSN (Cameroon)

East Asia: Nemo (Japan)

South Asia: Hazz (Pakistan)

Southeast Asia: Xian (Singapore)

Oceania: Genxa (Australia)

Host Region Slot: BlackAce (Bahrain)

HSN, a long-time pro in both FATAL FURY and Street Fighter, has made history for Cameroon, becoming the first player from the country to successfully qualify for an ENC competition. As the highest-placing competitor from the GCC region, BlackAce has done the same for Bahrain, becoming the first from his country to reach the ENC. With these results, this brings the current total number of represented countries and territories to 97.

But qualifying for ENC and succeeding at the ENC are two very different tasks, with the latter made much harder by the quality of players competing in FATAL FURY. Several prominent countries and territories already invited to compete, including the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and Japan, successfully qualified a second player through the online regional qualifiers.

The Central America qualifier was absolutely packed with talent from Mexico, and was so competitive that superstars such as Dark Angel and SHADOW X, who are signed to massive Clubs like NAVI and Falcons, failed to reach even the top 8. Instead, Kula secured the highly sought after second slot for Mexico, joining the invited Dany at ENC. The East Asia qualifier was equally competitive and stacked with legends, with the veteran Nemo overcoming several other Japanese superstars to join GO1, his FATAL FURY rival, at the ENC main event.

The full list of qualified players and nations can be viewed directly on the FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves page of the ENC website.

The FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves tournament at ENC will begin on November 12 and will conclude with the Grand Final on November 15. The first stage will be a 32-player round-robin group stage featuring four groups of eight teams. The top four from each group will advance to the Playoffs, a single-elimination bracket concluding with a best-of-seven 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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