League of Legends Joins Esports Nations Cup 2026 Games Catalogue

League of Legends is the latest name to join the rapidly growing list of games set to feature in the debut year of the Esports Nations Cup (ENC). Its addition comes as little surprise given the announcement several days before of sister game VALORANT joining the roster, bringing the total number of confirmed games for the first edition of the ENC to 16.

Another Pillar Esports Title Joins ENC

League of Legends will feature in the ENC during Week 4 of the tournament, running from November 21^st to the 29^th with qualifiers running from June 19^th to the 21^st. 32 national teams are set to compete in this debut edition of the ENC, featuring 5-man lineups of the best players from nations around the world.

Tournament Schedule and Format

For the pivotal debut edition, the tournament has been organized into 3 distinct stages: Play-Ins, Group Stage, and Playoffs.

Play-In Stage:

• 24 teams will compete from the Play-In stage in Bo1 (Best-of-One) double round robin format.
• Play-Ins will consist of 4 groups of 6 teams.
• Top 2 teams from each group will advance to the Group Stage. 

Group Stage:

• 8 of the 32 teams will be seeded directly into the Group Stage.
• Group Stage will be played in a Bo3 (Best-of-Three) round robin format consisting of 4 groups of 4 teams each.
• Top 2 teams from each group will advance to the Playoffs. 

Playoffs Stage:

• Playoffs will consist of the final 8 teams in the tournament, played in Bo3 for the majority and Bo5 (Best-of-Five) format for the Grand Finals.
• Playoffs will be single elimination. 

32 teams are set to compete later this year for national pride. Credit: ENC

Ranking and Qualification System

16 of the competing teams will be directly invited based on a newly developed ENC national team ranking. The top 8 teams based on this ranking will be seeded directly into the Group Stage. Teams ranked 9-16 will receive a slot in the Play-In Stage.

The remaining 16 teams will be decided based on regional qualifiers. Here’s the breakdown. 

• 16 teams to receive direct invites.
• 14 teams will be given the opportunity to qualify through regional online qualifiers.
• 2 teams will earn their spot through Wildcard slots. 

Qualifiers are set to run between June 19^th and 21^st, featuring double elimination brackets. Qualifiers will be run for the following regions with the following distributed slot count:

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

League of Legends Esports World Cup Legacy

League of Legends has been a staple of the EWC for the last two years running, with T1 taking home the trophy in its debut season (2024) followed by Gen.G last year (2025). 

As League of Legends now joins the Esports Nation Cup’s debut edition, fans across the globe can anticipate fierce national rivalries as the squads begin to form for a global showdown not to be forgotten anytime soon.  

Follow Strafe Esports for the latest League of Legends news and our X account for the latest content and coverage. Also, stay tuned to Strafe's channel on YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and more.

Featured Image Credit: ENC

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