Esports Nations Cup postponed to 2027, Team GB qualified teams will have to wait

Ollie Ring, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 18/08/2026

The inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC) has been postponed by a year, meaning Team GB fans will have to wait to watch players compete for national glory in Riyadh, November 2027.

The Esports Foundation announced the delay on August 18, following an ongoing assessment of the “wider regional situation” and consultation with industry stakeholders. No additional reason was given, though it’s safe to assume it’s tied to the challenging geopolitical situation that led to the Esports World Cup being moved from Saudi Arabia to Paris this year.

The postponement comes after several months of squad selections, qualifiers, and preparation for the UK’s first ENC campaign.

Team GB has, to date, announced players across several titles, including Rainbow Six Siege and Rocket League.

The country’s League of Legends squad was also confirmed in June, featuring several familiar names from the UK scene including Jordan “Shikari” Pointon, Matthew “Deadly” Smith and Raymond “Kasing” Tsang.

Team GB Dota 2 qualification now carries over to delayed ENC

Great Britain has already secured its place in the ENC Dota 2 main event after progressing through the EU West qualifier in July.

The squad, led by British Dota personality Robson “TeaGuvnor” Merritt, qualified alongside Finland after battling through the lower bracket.

As a result, the Dota squad were expected to join the other qualified and invited nations in Riyadh later this year.

The Esports Foundation said existing ENC Development Fund commitments to National Team Partners will remain in place despite the postponement. Work with publishers, national partners and other stakeholders is also set to continue during the additional year.

“The decision to postpone the Esports Nations Cup was not taken lightly,” said Esports Foundation CEO Ralf Reichert.

“Hosting the tournament in Riyadh next year does not change our commitment. We will continue investing in our National Team Partners, working with publishers and building the national ecosystems already taking shape around the competition.”

More than 100 countries and territories are official partners of the ENC, and there was a recent partnership reveal with adidas for national team jerseys. Now, fans will have to wait for a year before adorning the colours of GB and singing averagely-adapted football chants.

The Esports Foundation has made clear it will work with publishers and National Team Partners over coming weeks to clarify how the new timeline affects the competition, and whether any qualification pathways that are currently ongoing will be impacted.

Ollie Ring, Senior Editor

Ollie has been at the intersection of video games, esports, and gambling for over ten years and has also worked in consultancy in the gambling industry. He has helped host and attended numerous UK esports events both B2B and B2C in the last decade. Ollie's work can be found on the likes of: BBC, Red Bull Gaming, Esports Insider, CasinoBeats, PC Gamer, Green Man Gaming as well as his own thought-leadership substack "Esprouts" looking at specific studies and stories where games meet gambling.

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