The inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), which was set to function a 128-player chess match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 2-29, has been postponed by one 12 months to November 2027, the Esports Basis (EF) announced on Tuesday.
The Basis mentioned the choice adopted an ongoing evaluation of the “wider regional state of affairs” and session with key stakeholders. The group mentioned transferring the competitors to 2027 was the accountable choice given the dimensions of an occasion involving groups and stakeholders from greater than 100 nations and territories.
“The choice to postpone the Esports Nations Cup was not taken calmly,” mentioned EF CEO Ralf Reichert. “We are going to proceed investing in our Nationwide Staff Companions, working with publishers and constructing the nationwide ecosystems already taking form across the competitors. The work continues, and our ambition for ENC stays unchanged.”
The inaugural Esports Nations Cup is postponed to November 2027.
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— Esports Nations Cup (@ENC_EN) August 18, 2026
The ENC had been scheduled to run throughout 4 weeks in November, with chess among the many titles performed in the course of the opening week.
The Esports Basis is but to touch upon how the postponement will have an effect on the gamers who’ve certified for the finals, and whether or not they may retain their locations in 2027.
GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Liem Le, Matthias Bluebaum, Volodar Murzin, and Christopher Yoo are among the many gamers who had secured their spots in the finals via the qualification process. The chess area was set to function gamers from a minimum of 82 nations and territories.
Chess was introduced in February as one among 16 titles on the inaugural ENC, with a 128-player match designed to carry collectively gamers representing nations and territories fairly than esports golf equipment. Chess.com joined the ENC as an official publishing partner in November 2025, alongside publishers together with Digital Arts, Krafton, Tencent, Ubisoft, MOONTON Video games, and SNK. The competitors was conceived as a nation-versus-nation counterpart to the club-focused Esports World Cup.
EF mentioned all present commitments made via the ENC Improvement Fund will stay in place regardless of the postponement, whereas its improvement packages and work with Nationwide Staff Companions will proceed.
The muse mentioned it’ll work with publishers and Nationwide Staff Companions within the coming weeks to offer additional particulars on the revised competitors calendar and qualification pathways.
