{"id":33463,"date":"2026-01-29T06:27:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T06:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/?p=33463"},"modified":"2026-01-29T12:03:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T12:03:48","slug":"dota-2-was-added-to-the-esports-nations-cup-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/news\/dota-2\/dota-2-was-added-to-the-esports-nations-cup-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Dota 2 Joins Esports Nations Cup 2026: Teams, Format &amp; Qualification Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Dota 2 has officially been added to the Esports Nations Cup 2026<\/strong>, marking another major step for national-team esports competitions. Organized by the Esports World Cup Foundation, the inaugural event will take place in <strong>Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2\u20138<\/strong>, bringing together <strong>32 national Dota 2 teams<\/strong> in a unique country-based format. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below is everything confirmed so far about the <strong>tournament structure, qualification system, and what makes the Esports Nations Cup different from standard Dota 2 events<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dota 2 Confirmed for Esports Nations Cup 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"The rise of a new rivalry. Esports Nations Cup\" width=\"788\" height=\"443\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QlG4tsOc28M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The rise of a new rivalry. Esports Nations Cup<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The confirmation that Dota 2 will be part of the<strong> Esports Nations Cup 2026<\/strong> has been welcomed by fans worldwide. There will be<strong> 32 national teams<\/strong> that will compete at this tournament, making the event unique in many ways. The national-team format offers a refreshing alternative to the traditional club-based Dota 2 tournaments fans are used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each Dota 2 national team at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 will consist of five of the best players from the respective country. The squads will play in the<strong> Group Stage and Playoffs<\/strong>. Keep reading to learn more about the format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Esports Nations Cup 2026 Dota 2 Format Explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A new Aegis of national glory awaits. <br><br>Witness the world&#39;s best <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DOTA2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@DOTA2<\/a> players represent their country at the Esports Nations Cup this November  in Riyadh. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fqAJ5XobTM\">pic.twitter.com\/fqAJ5XobTM<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Esports Nations Cup (@ENC_EN) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ENC_EN\/status\/2016526741834010915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">January 28, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Dota 2 Esports Nations Cup 2026 will take place in <strong>Riyadh<\/strong>, <strong>Saudi Arabia<\/strong>, from <strong>November 2<\/strong>\u2013<strong>8<\/strong>. The tournament will feature a <strong>round-robin group stage,<\/strong> and we will see a total of<strong> four groups that will have 8 teams<\/strong>. Once the matches are over, the best <strong>16 squads will advance to the playoffs<\/strong>, which will be in a single-elimination bracket. Fortunately, we will have a <strong>classic Bo5 Grand Final<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dota 2 National Team Ranking and Direct Invitations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though the tournament is <strong>11 months from now<\/strong>, we have some interesting information about the qualifications. As mentioned, there will be<strong> 32 teams in total<\/strong>, but only 16 of them will receive a direct invitation. This will happen via the Dota 2 National Team Ranking. <strong>Two participants will get the chance to play via a Wildcard<\/strong>, whereas the <strong>remaining 14<\/strong> will come from regional online qualifiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In terms of the National Team Ranking, it will be calculated using results from the T1 Dota 2 competitions. Players will earn<strong> points based on their results<\/strong> while playing in other official events. Each ranking will be a combination of all points from the top five players on the roster that it will submit. They will have time until June 7, 2026 because the <strong>direct invites<\/strong> will be locked after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Esports Nations Cup 2026 Regional Qualifiers (Slots &amp; Regions)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As mentioned, some of the teams at the ENC 2026 will play in the following online qualifiers. They will <strong>take place<\/strong> between <strong>June 16 and July 5<\/strong>, but we will have to wait for the exact dates. From what we know, the slots will look as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Western Europe, Eastern Europe<\/strong> &#8211; 2 slots<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>SA, MENCA, South &amp; East Asia and Oceania<\/strong> &#8211; 2 slots<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Central &amp; South Africa<\/strong> &#8211; 1 slot<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>South America<\/strong> &#8211; 2 slots<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>North America<\/strong> &#8211; 1 slot<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Thoughts on Dota 2 at the Esports Nations Cup 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Esports Nations Cup 2026 will <strong>definitely be among the most interesting esports events<\/strong> in a while. Keep in mind that Dota 2 is just one of the games we will see there. Aside from that, the organizers have already confirmed Trackmania and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Who knows, we may see even more games in the future, so follow us for more details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dota 2 has officially been added to the Esports Nations Cup 2026, marking another major step for national-team esports competitions. Organized by the Esports World Cup Foundation, the inaugural event will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2\u20138, bringing together 32 national Dota 2 teams in a unique country-based format. Below is everything<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":33466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[260,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-33463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dota-2","8":"tag-dota-2","9":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33463"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33482,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33463\/revisions\/33482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blix.gg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}