COUNTER-STRIKE 2 CONFIRMED FOR INAUGURAL ESPORTS NATIONS CUP IN SAUDI ARABIA

COUNTER-STRIKE 2 CONFIRMED FOR INAUGURAL ESPORTS NATIONS CUP IN SAUDI ARABIA

The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) officially confirmed that Counter-Strike 2 will be one of the competitive titles at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC 2026), a new national-team-based international esports tournament scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in November 2026.

Event Dates and Prize Fund

• The Counter-Strike 2 competition is set to begin on November 10, 2026, and will conclude with its finals on November 15, 2026.

• Players and nations will compete for a $1,320,000 prize pool specific to Counter-Strike 2.

Nation-Based Format

Unlike most international esports events focused on club teams or organizations, the ENC emphasises national representation, meaning players will compete as national teams, not clubs.

For the Counter-Strike division:

• Roster rules mandate that all players on a national team share the same citizenship and follow eligibility criteria aligned with VRS Tier 2 regulations.

• Teams appearing in the VRS (Valve Regional Standings) ranking system as of the June 1 cut-off may earn additional ranking points for their club if they release ≥3 players to represent their national team.

Tournament Structure

• 24 national teams will be selected for the main Counter-Strike competition through a multi-layered qualifying system — starting with national qualifiers and advancing to regional qualifiers across eight global regions.

• The main group stage will feature round-robin play between four groups of six teams.

• Post group stage, the top four teams from each group advance to a single-elimination playoff bracket.

• Group matches will be Best-of-One, while playoffs are Best-of-Three, culminating with a Best-of-Five Grand Final.

Qualifying and Rankings

The CS2 National Team Ranking system — built on VRS and FACEIT Elo data — will determine which nations earn qualifying slots and seeding for regional stages.

Event Context — Esports Nations Cup 2026

The Esports Nations Cup is a major new global tournament first announced in August 2025 by the EWCF, designed to bring a country-vs-country competitive element to international esports.

Aside from CS2, a confirmed lineup of titles confirmed or reported for the ENC includes:

• Dota 2

• Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

• Trackmania

• FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves

• Chess

• Others to be revealed as updates are made public

The full competition will span multiple genres and is expected to involve a multi-million dollar prize pool across all games.

Format & Purpose

The ENC 2026 adopts a mixed qualification structure combining:

• Global rankings

• National and regional qualifiers

• Wildcards

The event showcases esports titles across FPS, MOBAs, racing, fighting games, and strategy, representing an attempt to formalise national team competition within the global industry — similar to traditional sports frameworks.

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Key Takeaways

• COUNTER-STRIKE 2 is now confirmed to be part of the first Esports Nations Cup.

• The tournament will feature national teams, not organizations, in Riyadh from November 10–15, 2026.

• A new qualification system and national ranking will determine who competes.

• ENC will include at least 16 titles and substantial prize pools.