Jul 16, 2026.
Every week, more flags lock in their place at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 Finals. This tracker follows the qualifiers as they happen, game by game and region by region, with the stories behind every country & territory that punches its ticket to Riyadh.
Total Countries & Territories at the ENC26 Main Event: 111
In alignment with the game publisher, two players registered to the Iraqi Rocket League roster were found ineligible. In accordance with Section 1.6.1 of the ENC Player Eligibility Rules & Regulations, the roster has been disqualified from ENC26. Iraq will remain represented at ENC26 through an eligible replacement roster.
On July 14, ESIC issued provisional suspensions to one player and one coach from the Peruvian Dota 2 team in connection with an ongoing integrity investigation arising from the Esports World Cup 2026. In accordance with ESIC sanctions applicable to all ESIC member events, they are therefore prohibited from participating, directly or indirectly, in ENC26 while the investigation remains ongoing. No final determination of guilt has been made.
On July 14, ESIC issued provisional suspensions to one player and one coach from the Peruvian Dota 2 team in connection with an ongoing integrity investigation arising from the Esports World Cup 2026. In accordance with ESIC sanctions applicable to all ESIC member events, they are therefore prohibited from participating, directly or indirectly, in ENC26 while the investigation remains ongoing. No final determination of guilt has been made.
Qualified: Canada; Paraguay; Türkiye; Germany; Great Britain; Romania; United Arab Emirates; Malaysia; Japan; Chinese Taipei; Indonesia
The seeds largely held in PUBG, but the margins produced the drama. Canada dominated the Americas from start to finish, while Paraguay turned a rough opening into a stunning comeback built on four WWCDs, the highest total of any team across all qualifiers, edging Peru by just five points. In Asia Pacific, Malaysia, Japan, and Chinese Taipei controlled the standings throughout, leaving Indonesia to survive a furious Day 2 charge from New Zealand by a mere six points. EMEA was the tightest region of all: Türkiye flipped a poor start into three wins across the final five matches with a massive 56 eliminations, Germany and Great Britain justified their seeding the hard way, and Romania emerged as the surprise of the region in fourth.
On July 9 and 10, the Chilean team, as well as the Polish coach and one Algerian player, were disqualified from the competition for breaches of the ENC Tournament Participation Agreement and the ESIC Code of Conduct, after review from the ENC integrity team and ESIC.
Qualified: Mexico; Colombia; Chile; France; Italy; Kyrgyzstan; Uzbekistan; Jordan; Saudi Arabia; Kuwait; Mauritania; Madagascar; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Cambodia
PUBG Mobile cast the widest net of any qualifier, and three flags made history. Mauritania toppled regional heavyweights Nigeria and Senegal in Central & West Africa, Madagascar edged Mauritius on a tiebreaker after both finished dead level on 155 points in the closest finish of the entire tournament, and Cambodia denied Malaysia in a tense final game in Southeast Asia & Oceania, all three securing their first-ever qualification to the ENC Finals. Elsewhere, the favourites made their point emphatically: Jordan finished a massive 58 points clear in the Middle East & North Africa, France was on another level in Europe West with Italy snatching second on a late surge of four Chicken Dinners, and Mexico dominated North & Central America by 60 points. Chile, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong, China, and Indonesia all delivered on expectations, while Saudi Arabia claimed the final MENA slot in the last game and hosts Kuwait complete the field through the Host Region slot.
Qualified: Lebanon; Philippines; Thailand; Pakistan; Canada; Peru; South Africa; Finland; Great Britain; Kyrgyzstan; Ecuador; Greece
The favourites mostly held serve in Dota 2, but the underdogs stole the show. Kyrgyzstan ended Türkiye's five-game lower bracket run to seal a historic first on the international Dota stage, Greece reunited four members of the fan-favourite 2016 Ad Finem line-up to claim their slot, and Finland and Ecuador added upsets of their own. Among the powerhouses, South Africa and Peru both qualified without dropping a single game, Pakistan survived a Mongolian scare to clinch it in the lower bracket final against India, and Canada's Arteezy answered an 0-9 stumble against Cuba with a 21-0 statement in the deciding game, the most dominant single performance of the entire qualifier.
Qualified: Mexico; Panama; Venezuela; Netherlands; Sweden; Syria; Algeria; Bangladesh; Singapore; Australia; Saudi Arabia
Street Fighter 6 delivered a qualifying week defined by history-makers. Panama and Bangladesh both secured their first-ever ENC Finals qualifications, Panama through GrandTODAKAI's 3-2 thriller over Puerto Rico, and Bangladesh with an all-Bangladeshi Grand Final between Raihan and SI Anik that guaranteed the milestone before a single set was played. Venezuela's Salvatore authored the run of the tournament, eliminating every Brazilian player in the bracket before storming back through losers to reset and win the Grand Final. In the Middle East, Hamood qualified Syria by defeating his own brother in the Grand Final; the two will now represent Syria side by side in Riyadh. Algeria's Dims crashed Cameroon's party with the upset of the week, while Mexico's LUGANO, Sweden, the Netherlands, Singapore, Australia, and hosts Saudi Arabia all delivered on expectations. Final rosters will be revealed on July 6.
Qualified: United States of America; Mexico; Ecuador; Brazil; Italy; Greece; Saudi Arabia; Morocco; Cameroon; Japan; Singapore; Pakistan; Australia
Barely a year into its competitive life, FATAL FURY heads to Riyadh without an undisputed number one, and that is exactly what makes it dangerous. Japan brings the deepest talent pool, but 7x Evo Champion Xiaohai (CHINA) and 2x Evo Champion ZJZ (Chinese Taipei) headline a field where the crown is genuinely up for grabs, with the GO1 vs. Xiaohai rivalry, the defining feud of the modern SNK era, set for its next chapter. Beyond the favourites, the qualifiers rewrote the map: Ecuador's Cheo1234 broke through in a LATAM scene long dominated by Mexico, Pakistan's Hazz is out to prove the strongest TEKKEN scene on the planet can conquer a second fighting game, and Italy arrives as the only Italian player at ENC across all fighting game titles, carrying the hopes of an FGC renaissance on his shoulders.
Qualified: Colombia, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Peru, France, Denmark, Hungary, Czechia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Japan, India, Vietnam, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates
VALORANT’s qualifiers proved the ENC format can rewrite a scene’s hierarchy. Denmark qualified with two of the Game Changers ecosystem’s biggest stars, mimi and Noia, in their ranks, while Peru’s ticket came with Game Changers LATAM South standout Lied on the roster, two rosters proving the pathway between circuits is real. New Zealand flew across the world to the Southeast Asia qualifier and beat the region’s best on their own soil, India sealed their spot from a full team bootcamp, and Japan’s Meiy pulled a massive 76,000 viewers during the qualifiers, a glimpse of the audience waiting in November. The MENA final produced the twist of the week: Saudi Arabia’s win over Morocco sent the Host Region slot to the United Arab Emirates, who complete the field.
Qualified: Hong Kong, China, Mongolia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, Belgium, Lithuania, Romania, Algeria, Tunisia, Mexico, Guatemala, Chile, Peru, Saudi Arabia
League of Legends belonged to the history-makers. Guatemala qualified for the first Tier 1 LoL event in their history, clawing back from a game down against Costa Rica through a 50-minute marathon before closing out the tiebreaker. Mongolia, led by ex-LCS pro Yuuji, went on a miracle lower-bracket run, winning every single round and taking ultimate revenge on Japan to qualify, while the Philippines booked their first Tier 1 appearance since Season 3 Worlds behind a hyper-talented young roster. New Zealand travelled to Malaysia and swept the entire tournament without dropping a map, and North Africa owned the MEA qualifier, with heavy favourites Algeria joined by a bootcamp-sharpened Tunisia. In Europe, Germany’s BIG-built core swept the West with Belgium’s veteran trio of Nisqy, Bwipo, and Targamas alongside them, while Lithuania cruised flawlessly through the East ahead of Romania. Chile stunned Peru in South America even without star player Cody, though Peru recovered to claim the final ticket, and Mexico rolled through North America as expected.
Qualified: Kakne (United States), Neal (United States), L1ngo (Canada), Epos (Great Britain), Gwen (France), Massa (Germany), Auris (Lithuania), neon (Poland), ender (Morocco), Huso (Türkiye), Spark (India), Zack2301 (Indonesia), Baiwack (New Zealand), JSwag (New Zealand), Plink (United Arab Emirates)
Trackmania’s qualifying weekend ended with history: Plink’s Host Region run makes him the first United Arab Emirates player ever to compete at a Major Trackmania tournament. He wasn’t the only surprise. Indonesia’s Zack2301, a completely fresh face who had never played a major before, stole the show in Asia alongside dominant favourite Spark of India, while the Kiwi duo of Baiwack and JSwag shut Australia out of an Oceania region it historically rules. The Americas flipped the script too, with South American favourites swept aside as Kakne and Neal locked in the United States and L1ngo earned the right to join 7-time world champion CarlJr for Canada. Europe West became a battle of reunited duos, Epos joining Pac for Great Britain, Gwen beating Bren in a thrilling Grand Final to rejoin Binkss for France, and Massa fighting back to his long-time partner GranaDy for Germany, while in the East, neon sealed back-to-back EWC and ENC qualifications in a single week and Auris took revenge on Czechia’s Bestie when it mattered most to put Lithuania back on the Trackmania map. In MEA, experience won out, with ender delivering all weekend for Morocco and Huso reuniting with long-time Turkish duo Cemko.
Qualified: 82 countries and territories
Chess set the tone for the entire Road to Riyadh: more than 300 players fought through the qualification process, and 82 countries & territories emerged with a place at the ENC Finals, the broadest field of any title. It is a field that spans generations, with 16-year-olds Caleb Levitan (South Africa) and Håvard Haug, who will represent Norway alongside chess legend Magnus Carlsen, at one end, and 56-year-old Rodrigo Vásquez Schröder (Chile), a Grandmaster since before many of this year’s participants were born, at the other. Alexandra Kosteniuk (Switzerland) and Amani Alazmi (Kuwait, Host Region) headline the field’s female representation, while El Salvador, Jamaica, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Zambia all secured rare appearances on the global esports stage. And the invited elite should watch their backs: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam), Nodirbek Yakubboev (Uzbekistan), Volodar Murzin (Russia), and Benjamin Gledura (Hungary) all came through the qualifiers with a statement to make in November.
Qualified: Thailand, Japan, Finland, Italy, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile
Rainbow Six delivered chaos from the very first day and never let up. Thailand became the first qualified team by taking down South Korea in the Upper Bracket Grand Final, only for Japan to eliminate the Koreans with back-to-back 7-2 sweeps from the lower bracket. Türkiye marched through MEA dropping just a single map all tournament, while Saudi Arabia turned every match into a thriller, sealing qualification off the back of an overtime round against Iraq decided in its final minute. Europe was carnage for the seeds: underdogs Finland reached the Upper Bracket Final without dropping a map before Italy’s lower-bracket surge carried both into the qualified field. And in North America, Canada led from the front while Mexico produced the moment of the qualifier, denying Colombia with a clutch last-second defusal before a perfect defensive half punched their ticket.