The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) announced this week that Epic Games’ Rocket League will be a competitive title at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC), set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November.
Rocket League joins the other previously announced titles that will be part of ENC this year, including League of Legends, Valorant, Apex Legends, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Rainbow Six Siege, EA Sports FC 26, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Chess, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Trackmania, and Honor of Kings. A total of 16 titles will be played at the nation vs. nation competition. Three titles are still to be announced.
EWCF noted in its announcement that 48 national teams will compete on PC in 3v3 play for a share of a $1,320,000 USD prize pool.
The Rocket League Esports Nations Cup competition will run from Nov. 2 – 8, beginning with a group stage featuring eight groups of six teams, playing a round-robin format with best-of-five matches. The top 16 teams will move on to a single-elimination playoff bracket, where every series is a best-of-seven.
Qualification for the event is determined using the official RLCS Ranking, with a cut-off date of May 24. Additional qualifying teams will be decided through Esports Nations Cup qualifiers, operated by EFG, using a double-elimination bracket to select the final lineups.
- 24 teams will be directly invited based on rankings.
- 21 will qualify through special qualifying competitions.
- Two will be selected via wildcard slots.
The ENC is set to take place Nov. 2 – 29, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The competition is being produced by the EWCF, which is funded through a so-called “sports grant” by the Saudi Arabian government’s sovereign wealth fund, the PIF.
Projects backed by the Saudi government are often accused of being used for “sports washing,” or as a cover for the government to gloss over its record on human rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, its mistreatment (and executions of) journalists, military actions in Yemen, and more. These and other criticisms have been highlighted by international watchdog groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.