The League of Legends regional qualifiers for the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) 2026 begin on June 19th, with the Esports Foundation confirming the full competitive structure, broadcast plans and invitation timeline through its recently published qualifier rulebook.

Fourteen national teams will earn their spot at the Main Event through these online qualifiers, which run from June 19th through June 21st. The competition takes place ahead of the Main Event, scheduled for November 21st–29th, where thirty-two nations in total will battle for a share of the 1,500,000 USD prize pool.

Two slots per region across seven regions

The qualifiers are split across seven regions, each offering two slots. Those regions are North America, Central America and the Caribbean; South America; Europe West; Europe East; Middle East and Africa; Asia; and South East Asia and Oceania.

Every regional qualifier follows a double-elimination format. The best-performing roster from each nation advances until the region's slot allocation is filled. Seeding is determined by the ENC National Ranking, with higher-ranked teams receiving higher seeds. Teams absent from the ranking are placed into the remaining open positions through a random draw.

ENC Ranking
The provisional ENC rankings featuring the top names of the moment in terms of points awarded

Roster announcements on June 18th

Sixteen of the thirty-two teams at the Main Event will receive direct invitations through the ENC Ranking system. The top eight in the ranking are seeded straight into the Group Stage, while teams ranked ninth to sixteenth begin in the Play-In stage. The final two slots are awarded via Wildcards.

The cut-off date for the ranking is June 14th. RFT received confirmation that on that same day, the Esports Foundation will privately inform nations whether they have been invited or qualified — without releasing any additional ranking details, in order to preserve the exclusivity of the announcement.

RFT also received the information that full roster announcements and invites will be made public on June 18th, the day before the qualifiers begin.

Broadcast: co-streams first, official channels for the finals

The broadcast plan splits across the three competition days. The first two days will be co-streaming only, with up to four matches running simultaneously. Viewers won't be able to follow every single game live.

The final day will be broadcast officially on the ENC Twitch and YouTube channels.

All matches are BO1, except the qualifying ones

The first two days of each regional qualifier are played entirely in a BO1 (best-of-one) format. Qualifying matches on the final day shift to BO3. Matches will be played on patch 26.12. The qualifiers also adopt the Fearless Draft system.

Current EUW Qualifier
Current EUW Qualifier schedule for ENC

Default servers vary by region — Frankfurt for Europe West, Hong Kong for Asia, Stockholm for Europe East, Istanbul for Middle East and Africa, Miami for North America, Singapore for South East Asia and Oceania, and São Paulo for South America. Teams may agree to an alternative server, provided both sides confirm with Tournament Officials beforehand.

Rosters must consist of five players, with up to two substitutes and one coach. Every participant must be at least seventeen years old at the time of the first mandatory competition day, and each player must select one country or territory to represent across the entire ENC Season.