The Esports Foundation has published the list of players who received direct invites to the EA Sports FC tournament as part of the inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026. The massive 128-participant esports event will take place from November 17 to 22 in Riyadh. Half of the slots have been distributed via direct invites to representatives of various countries, while the remaining 64 spots will be contested in global qualifiers.
Among the main stars of the upcoming tournament is the Dane Anders "Vejrgang" Vejrgang. He holds the number one spot in the world rankings thanks to his victories this year at the FC Pro Open, eSerie A, and eChampions League. Significant attention is also drawn to the Romanian Razvan "RvPLegend" Puiu: after a sensational championship win at the FC World Championship as part of the Esports World Cup, where he arrived ranked 30th, the player has climbed to fourth place on the invite list.
The cohort of favorites also includes the Italian Bonnano (third place on the list) and the Moroccan representative Nassada. The latter drew attention by managing to defeat the ranking leader, Vejrgang. Overall, esports athletes from 64 countries received invites, including Argentina (nicolas99fc), the Netherlands (Emre Yilmaz), Brazil (Paulo Neto), the USA (GuiBarros), Japan (Web Nasri), and many other nations. The final participation of each player depends on their acceptance of the invite.
The community's attention now shifts to the online qualifiers, which will determine the remaining 64 participants. The qualifiers are taking place in the in-game FC Pro Live Events mode and on the Battlefy platform. They are divided into two phases and are open to all eligible players with no limit on the number of participants from a single country. The first phase will run from July 29 to August 2 in a 24/7 ladder format, where opponents are matched based on their Skill Rating. The top players from this stage will advance to the regional playoffs.
The LAN tournament itself at ENC 2026 will take place in two key stages:
- Group Stage: 128 players will be divided into 16 groups, where they will play in a round-robin format.
- Playoffs: The top 64 players from the group stage will advance to a single-elimination bracket.
The tournament will conclude with the Grand Final, scheduled for November 22.
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