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The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) today announced PUBG: Battlegrounds as the latest of 16 titles that national teams and players will compete in at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC).
The event will debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2 through 29, 2026. And 24 nations will drop in and fight for the ultimate Chicken Dinner, with a 16 team, 10 game, grand final set to deliver some intense battle royale action during the second week of the Esports Nations Cup.
Here’s everything you need to know about PUBG: Battlegrounds at ENC 2026:
SCHEDULE AND FORMAT
- The PUBG: Battlegrounds tournament at ENC will begin on November 11, 2026, and will conclude with the finals on November 15, 2026.
- The first stage will consist of 24 teams competing in a group stage, featuring three groups of eight teams, with five matches taking place between each group.
- The top 16 teams from the group stage will advance to the finals.
- The finals will consist of 16 teams competing over 10 matches maximum, using the Smash Rule system.
RANKING SYSTEM AND QUALIFIER INFO
- 24 national teams will compete at the PUBG: Battlegrounds event at ENC 2026:
- The top 12 teams will be directly invited based on the PUBG National Team Ranking using the Krafton PUBG Power Rankings as foundation.
- 10 teams will be able to qualify through regional online qualifiers.
- 2 teams will come from Wildcard slots.
- The Esports Nations Cup will determine its direct invites via the PUBG Ranking from Krafton. Clubs will be ranked based on placements at official competitions, with those points equally shared across all Club teammates who participated. The national ranking will then accumulate the points of the top four players on the submitted national roster. The cut-off date for the national ranking is June 7, 2026.
- The PUBG: Battlegrounds online qualifier will take between July 10 – 12. Qualifiers will feature double-elimination brackets, with a minimum of 12 games played. Qualifiers will be hosted in each of the following regions:
- Americas (2 slots)
- Europe + Middle East + Africa (4)
- Asia (2)
- Southeast Asia + Oceania (2)