The first edition of the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) has been postponed, with the tournament pushed back by a full year to November 2027 due to an "ongoing assessment of the wider regional situation" and after meetings with shareholders.
The Esports Foundation (EF) confirmed the postponement in a press release on August 18. The event, which would have seen over 100 nations compete as national teams across several esport titles, was set to take place in November this year.
The inaugural Esports Nations Cup is postponed to November 2027.
— Esports Nations Cup (@ENC_EN) August 18, 2026
More information on our website: https://t.co/qYmapPZLhp pic.twitter.com/LPXQZKKgJO
"EF believes moving the inaugural competition to November 2027 is the responsible decision to provide the certainty and stability that National Teams, publishers, partners and fans expect," the Saudi Arabian-backed organiser said.
The "wider regional situation" referred to by EF is almost assuredly the ongoing conflict in the Middle-East and surrounding regions — one of the chief reasons for the Esports World Cup's move to Paris in July and August.
“The decision to postpone the Esports Nations Cup was not taken lightly," EF CEO Ralf Reichert said, adding that ENC's competitors were owed an event "delivered under the right conditions and at the level this idea deserves."
Several Australian and New Zealand competitors who had already qualified for the Riyadh event now find their November calendar's cleared, but EF assured its competitors that clarity and communication regarding qualification processes was coming in the next few weeks.
Australia 🇦🇺 will represent OCE at @ENC_EN CS2 in Riyadh following the 2-0 win over New Zealand 🇳🇿
— Taffy (@TaffyAU) July 19, 2026
The winning moment, including earthshattering celebrations from Liazz. pic.twitter.com/aOEGbJvt6v
OCE reps Australia and New Zealand were set to send a large cohort of competitors to Riyadh for the event across over a dozen titles.
One such squad was Team Australia in CS2, who qualified over New Zealand in July after playing out the qualifier in the DFRAG Studio in Brisbane following the conclusion of the HyperX Intel Nationals.
It's not yet clear whether Australia will retain this qualification given the event has been pushed back a full 12 months.
"We will continue investing in our National Team Partners, working with publishers and building the national ecosystems already taking shape around the competition. The work continues, and our ambition for ENC remains unchanged," Reichert concluded.
