Organizers Esports Foundation and ESL FACEIT Group have presented details for the large-scale Counter-Strike 2 tournament, Esports Nations Cup 2026. The LAN championship will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 10 to 15, 2026, with a prize pool of $1,320,000. The BLAST Rivals tournament will be held concurrently with this event.
The key feature of the competition is an entry restriction—the tournament will feature national teams exclusively. A total of 24 teams will participate in the event.
In the group stage, the 24 national teams will be split into four groups of six teams each. Matches will follow a round-robin system in a Bo1 format. The top four teams from each group will advance to the playoffs.
The playoff stage will be played in a Single-Elimination bracket. All playoff matches will be Bo3 series, except for the Grand Final, which will be played in a Bo5 format.
The prize pool distribution includes $300,000 for the tournament winner, $180,000 for second place, and $90,000 for third position.
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