The qualifying stage of the first-ever Esports Nations Cup has concluded. As a result, 24 national teams have qualified to compete on the tournament’s main LAN stage. The final stage of the competition will take place in November in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), where teams will compete for a substantial prize pool of $1,320,000.
To determine the lineup for the final stage, the organizers held a series of regional qualifying tournaments in various parts of the world. Both young talents and well-known Counter-Strike players represented their countries in the battle for spots, helping their national teams advance through the qualifiers.
In Western Europe, one of the standout players was Owen “smooya” Butterfield, who, alongside Oscar “AZUWU” Bell, helped the United Kingdom secure a spot in the Esports Nations Cup. Germany also secured its place in the finals thanks to a team comprising players from BIG and M80. This team included, among others, Johannes “tabseN” Vodartz, Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich, and Elias “s1n” Stein.
The Eastern European qualifiers awarded spots to several national teams. Romania earned the right to compete in Riyadh thanks to Laurențiu “lauNX” Tsar, while Lithuania advanced thanks to the participation of Justinas “jL” Lekavičius.
The qualifiers also featured plenty of big names from past years of Counter-Strike. Morocco secured a spot in the main event thanks to the performances of Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom and his brother Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom. Joshua “steel” Nissan led Canada to success, while the Kazakhstani national team was coached by former Major champion Dauren “AdreN” Kystaubaev.
The main event of the 2026 Esports Nations Cup will take place from November 10 to 15. At the start, the 24 national teams will be divided into four groups, where they will compete in a round-robin format with BO1 matches. The top teams will advance to the playoffs, which will be held in a single-elimination format: series will be played in a BO3 format, and the decisive grand final will be played in a BO5 format.
The following national teams have qualified for the LAN stage:
- United Kingdom
- France
- Denmark
- Germany
- Romania
- Lithuania
- Poland
- Bulgaria
- Brazil
- Argentina
- United States
- Canada
- Kazakhstan
- Turkey
- Uzbekistan
- China
- Mongolia
- Indonesia
- Vietnam
- South Africa
- Morocco
- Australia
- Chile
- Mexico
Thus, the first Esports Nations Cup will bring together representatives from 24 countries across different continents and will be one of the largest international tournaments on the 2026 Counter-Strike calendar.