Dates announced for national and regional qualifiers in Dota 2 and CS2 for Esports Nations Cup 2026

The organizers of Esports Nations Cup 2026 have published the qualification schedule for the Dota 2 and CS2 tournaments.

In CS2, national teams will be formed through national qualifiers, so the path to the tournament is divided into two stages. First, a national qualifier will take place from July 6–16, with the winning team becoming the official national squad. This will be followed by a regional qualifier scheduled for July 17–19.

In Dota 2, the national team will be selected by a coach. Therefore, only regional qualifiers will be held, taking place from June 29 to July 3. However, 16 out of 32 national teams will receive direct invitations, 2 more teams will be granted Wildcard spots, and the remaining teams will qualify through regional qualifiers. The slot distribution for the regional qualifiers in Dota 2 is as follows:

• Europe West — 2
• Europe East — 2
• MENA and Central Asia — 2
• South and East Asia — 2
• Southeast Asia and Oceania — 2
• South America — 2
• North America — 1
• Central and South Africa — 1

At ENC 2026, the Dota 2 tournament will run from November 2–8, while the CS2 event will be held from November 10–15.

The organizers also reminded that participants are determined through three different pathways, so the disciplines are divided into three groups:

Individual achievements (based on players’ results within the broader competitive ecosystem):

• Chess
• EA Sports FC
• Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
• Trackmania
• Street Fighter 6

Coach selection:

• Dota 2
• Valorant
• League of Legends
• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
• Rocket League
• PUBG Mobile
• Honor of Kings
• PUBG: Battlegrounds
• Rainbow Six Siege

National qualifiers:

• Counter-Strike 2
• Apex Legends

As a reminder, Red Dead Redemption is set to release on PS5 in a physical format.