Esports Nations Cup (ENC) in Saudi Arabia postponed to November 2027

Naerlyn Published August 19, 2026

The Esports Foundation (EF) had announced launching the Esports Nations Cup (ENC), a tournament across 16 esports titles among national teams. Previewed in August 2025, the ENC was set to run every two years with its inaugural edition taking place in November 2026 in Riyadh. However, the EF is now postponing this event to November 2027 “following assessment of the wider regional situation”.

The Esports Nations Cup is moved to 2027

More than 150 countries have assembled teams to participate in the inaugural edition of the ENC, chasing the glory and a prize pool of $20 million. The teams have also already gone through qualifiers to determine who will participate alongside the bigger names.

On March 4, the EF had not indicated considering a change of location or date for either the Esports World Cup or the Esports Nations Cup as a result of the Iran conflict. Then, they relocated the EWC from Riyadh to Paris. Now, the ENC will also move as well amidst the continued instability, the EF deeming it the responsible decision.

“The response from National Team Partners, publishers, players and communities around the world has shown us how much potential this competition has. We owe them an inaugural ENC delivered under the right conditions and at the level this idea deserves. Hosting the tournament in Riyadh next year does not change our commitment. We will continue investing in our National Team Partners, working with publishers and building the national ecosystems already taking shape around the competition. The work continues, and our ambition for ENC remains unchanged.”

The EF postpones the inaugural edition of the ENC to 2027. Image Credit: Esports Nations Cup

The Esports Foundation will proceed to determine what this implies regarding the rosters or even qualification status of the teams. Considering the volatility of esports careers, most teams will likely need to change their participants. Due to the ENC’s qualification rules, this would also imply restarting all qualifiers as a result.

We will continue coverage of this event as the Esports Foundation shares more news. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts on our forums.

Featured Image Credit: Esports Nations Cup