The Esports Foundation has officially announced that the first edition of the Esports Nations Cup, originally planned for November 2026 in Riyadh, has been postponed to November 2027.
The decision was made after an assessment of the broader regional situation and consultations with key partners. The organizers state that, due to the international scale of the competition and the current uncertainty in the region, moving the tournament is a responsible move to ensure stability for national teams, game publishers, partners, players and fans.
Riyadh remains the host
Despite the postponement, Saudi Arabia and Riyadh remain the hosts of the first Esports Nations Cup.
The ENC is planned to be a four-week global competition with approximately 2.000 players, more than 100 countries and territories and a total of 16 different games. This kind of scale, which includes a large number of international trips, publishers and national esports systems, additionally influenced the decision of the organizers.
The Esports Foundation emphasizes that Saudi Arabia still has all the necessary capacities to organize major sports and entertainment events, which will continue according to existing plans.
What is happening with funds and national partners?
The postponement does not mean the termination of the project or the withdrawal of support for the development of national esports ecosystems.
All existing obligations under the ENC Development Fund towards national partners remain in force. The development programs will continue, along with the cooperation between the organizers, game publishers, national partners and other participants.
Ralf Reichert, executive director of the Esports Foundation, said the decision was not taken lightly. According to him, the reactions of national partners, publishers, players and communities showed how much potential this competition has.
Reichert emphasized that the organizers want the first edition to be held in appropriate conditions and at the level that this kind of project deserves. Postponing the tournament by a year, he says, does not change his long-term commitment to the project.
There is no final information on the qualifications yet
The Esports Foundation will be talking to national partners and publishers over the coming weeks to define:
- new competition calendar
- modified qualification paths
- the status of already played qualifications
- position of players and national teams that have already qualified
- possible changes in lineups and rules
- consequences of the new invitation deadline and the Solidarity Slot program
At this moment, it has not been officially confirmed whether all achieved results and qualifying places will automatically be valid for the 2027 edition.
This is especially important for national teams and players who have already passed the regional qualifications or applied for one of the special paths to the final tournament. The organizers have announced that they will provide more detailed explanations directly to partners and other participants.
What does postponement mean for Montenegro?
The Montenegrin League of Legends national team participated in the European qualifiers for the Esports Nations Cup, where they finished in joint seventh and eighth place. In the lower part of the skeleton, Montenegro defeated Slovenia, after which, after an uncertain match, it was eliminated from North Macedonia.
After the end of the qualifications, the application for the ENC Solidarity Slot was submitted for the Montenegrin national team. This program represents an additional path to the final tournament for developing countries and esports communities. According to the original schedule, the decision on the application should have been known by August 18.
However, following the rescheduling of the Esports Nations Cup to November 2027, it has not yet been confirmed when decisions on Solidarity Slot applications will be announced or whether applications already submitted will remain valid. It is also not known whether the results of the held qualifications will be recognized or whether the qualification process will be partially or completely reorganized.
The additional year of waiting also opens the question of the composition of the national teams, because the players' form, club engagements and the availability of team members can change significantly until November 2027. The Esports Foundation announced that more information about the new calendar, qualification paths and the consequences of the postponement will be released in the coming weeks.
The project's ambition remains unchanged.
The Esports Nations Cup is conceived as a major international competition of national selections, unlike the Esports World Cup, whose main focus is on professional esports organizations and clubs.
Although the postponement is a serious change for the national teams and players who have been preparing for November 2026, the organizers claim that the project continues and that the additional time will be used to develop national systems and organize competitions at the planned world level.
New, precise dates, qualification models and the status of already qualified participants will be announced later.
