League of Legends confirmed for Esports Nations Cup 2026

The Esports World Cup Foundation has confirmed that a League of Legends tournament will take place at the Esports Nations Cup 2026.

A total of 32 national teams will compete in the tournament. The event will run from November 21 to 29 and will feature a Play-In stage, a group stage, and playoffs. The total prize pool is $1.5 million.

Tournament Format

• Play-In Stage — 24 teams will compete in four groups of six teams each. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next stage.

• Group Stage — 16 national teams (invited teams + Play-In qualifiers) will compete. The teams will be divided into four groups of four. The top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs.

• Playoffs — The playoffs will follow a single-elimination format. All matches will be Best-of-3, except for the grand final, which will be played as a Best-of-5.

Participant Selection

According to the official release, 16 teams will receive direct invitations based on a newly created national team ranking system, which will take into account players’ results in global and regional competitions organized by Riot Games.

Another 14 teams will qualify through regional online qualifiers:

• North America (2 slots)
• South America (2)
• Western Europe (2)
• Eastern Europe (2)
• Southeast Asia + Oceania (2)
• Asia (2)
• Middle East + Africa (2)

Additionally, two Wildcard slots are предусмотрені, though the allocation mechanism has not yet been announced.

As a reminder, Blizzard Entertainment recently announced a mobile version of Overwatch.