The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) today announced Riot Games’ Valorant will join the lineup at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC).
It’s the latest of 16 titles that national teams and players will compete in at the ENC, an esports tournament that divides players along national lines. It’s set to debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November.
The topic of “best region” has been a foundational discussion of the competitive community since the game’s inception, and that question might be answered later this year, when 32 national teams, each comprising the best five Valorant players from each nation, will compete across a group stage and playoffs, culminating in a best-of-five grand final series to determine the inaugural winner.
Here’s everything you need to know about Valorant at ENC 2026:
SCHEDULE AND FORMAT
- The Valorant tournament at ENC will begin on November 8, 2026, and will conclude with the playoff final on November 15, 2026.
- The first stage will consist of 32 teams competing in a round-robin group stage, featuring four groups of eight teams.
- The top four teams from each group will advance to a 16-team single-elimination playoff bracket.
- All group stage matches will be best-of-one. All playoff matches (excluding the grand final) will be best-of-three. Finally, the grand final will be played in a best-of-five.
RANKING SYSTEM AND QUALIFIER INFO
- 32 national teams will compete at the Valorant event at ENC 2026:
- The top 16 teams will be directly invited based on a newly created Valorant National Team Rankings
- 14 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 newly created Valorant National Team Rankings, which takes into account regional and international Valorant Champions Tour competitions, with those points equally shared across all Club teammates who participated. The national ranking will then accumulate the points of the top five players on the submitted national roster. The cut-off date for the national ranking is June 21, 2026.
- The Valorant regional qualifiers will take place June 26-28. Qualifiers will be double-elimination brackets, hosted in each of the following regions:
- North America (2 slots)
- South America (2)
- Western Europe (2)
- Easter Europe (2)
- Middle East + North Africa (2)
- Asia (2)
- Southeast Asia + Oceania (2)