League of Legends added to Esports Nations Cup 2026 line-up

The Esports World Cup Basis (EWCF) has introduced the addition of League of Legends among the many 16 recreation titles within the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC).

The nation-based match will see a complete of 32 nationwide groups compete from November twenty first to November twenty ninth, that includes play-ins, group stage, and a playoff bracket, in addition to a mixed $1.5m (~£1.1m) prize pool.

The primary part of the match would be the Play-Ins, that includes 24 groups competing in a double-round-robin group stage with 4 teams of six groups every. Matches will all be best-of-one. The highest two groups from every group will advance to the Group Stage.

The Group Stage will then see the highest 16 groups compete in a round-robin format, with 4 teams of 4 groups every enjoying a best-of-three collection. The highest two from every group go to the Playoffs, the place they’ll compete in a single-elimination bracket. Matches might be best-of-three as soon as once more, besides the Grand Remaining, which might be a best-of-five.

In accordance with a launch, the match organiser will invite 16 groups primarily based on a newly developed nationwide crew rating that may contemplate world and regional LoL competitions.

Golf equipment might be ranked primarily based on placements in official Riot Video games competitions, with factors shared equally amongst all Membership teammates who participated. The nationwide rating will then accumulate the factors of the highest 5 gamers on the submitted nationwide roster. Two substitutes are allowed per crew.

The deadline for the rankings might be June 14th, doubtless after the top of the Spring splits throughout all main areas and earlier than the beginning of the Mid-Season Invitational, which begins on June twenty seventh in Daejeon, South Korea.

Among the many remaining 16 groups, 14 of them will qualify by regional on-line qualifiers, with the next slot distributions:

The net qualifier will happen from June nineteenth to June twenty first, that includes double-elimination brackets. The very best-performing roster per nation will qualify for the occasion till the slot allocation is reached. There might be two extra wildcard slots, though no indication has been given as to how they are going to be allotted.

In accordance with the crew formation rulebook, a nationwide crew can solely discipline a most of three gamers who come from the identical membership. For instance, solely as much as three T1 gamers could be a part of South Korea’s nationwide crew.

Final month, the EWCF introduced a $45m (~£32.6m) dedication to the esports business, $20m (~£14.4m) of which might be distributed as prize swimming pools.