Esports Nations Cup Postponed for a Year, The Esports Foundation Announces

The Esports Foundation (EF) today announced that the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally scheduled to take place in November 2026 in Riyadh, will be postponed to November 2027 due to the conflict in the region.

The decision follows the relocation of the Esports World Cup 2026 from Riyadh to Paris due to the regional conflict.

Esports Nations Cup 2026 Cancelled Due to Regional Conflict

According to a statement from the Esports Foundation, the decision follows “ongoing assessment of the wider regional situation, and after consultation with key stakeholders.”

Adding, “Given ENC’s unprecedented international scale and the uncertainty created by the wider regional situation, EF believes moving the inaugural competition to November 2027 is the responsible decision to provide the certainty and stability that National Teams, publishers, partners and fans expect.”

The announcement comes just two and a half months before the event was set to start, with the majority of the involved rosters and players qualified for their respective titles.

League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, and Rocket League were amongst the 16 titles set to feature at the Riyadh event in November, with some of esports biggest stars such as T1’s Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok set to play at the event.

It is not yet clear whether any qualifiers for the Esports Nations Cup 2026 will remain qualified for the Esports Nations Cup 2027, as the Esports Foundation promised to work “closely with National Team Partners, publishers and other stakeholders to provide clarity on the revised competition calendar, qualification pathways and other implications of the new timeline.”

“All existing ENC Development Fund commitments to National Team Partners will remain in place.” Adding, “EF will work directly with partners on the implications of the revised timeline and the transition towards the inaugural competition in 2027.”

The Esports Foundation stressed that “Saudi Arabia remains fully capable of hosting events, with major sporting and entertainment events continuing as planned,” however, the cancellation of this year’s event will be a bitter blow to its organisers.

Set to be held in Riyadh’s Boulevard City, the event was intended to be the coming together of years of ambition from Saudi representatives, who initially partnered with the International Olympic Committee to host the Esports Olympic Games, before their breaking of partnership led to the announcement of the Esports Nations Cup.

The long-held ambition for Saudi Arabia to host the international esports tournament is perhaps why the decision was made to not relocate the event, but there is no official confirmation of the reasoning at this stage.