Apex Legends Joins Esports Nations Cup 2026 with 40 Teams in Riyadh

Apex Legends will be one of 16 titles at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup in Riyadh, with 40 national teams contesting a late-November finals window and a 20-team match point finale. The Esports World Cup Foundation added Apex to the ENC roster in a Feb. 19 press release, positioning the battle royale as a nation-based competition within the ENC’s November schedule.

EWCF’s Feb. 19 announcement described the move bluntly: "Apex Legends is set to make its Esports Nations Cup debut, bringing the fast-paced battle royale into a nation-based competitive format for the opening year in Riyadh." The press material also stated, "40 teams will battle it out in total, with a 20-team match point final poised to deliver another epic conclusion to an Apex Legends tournament in Riyadh, with the city having a history of delivering unpredictable events."

Format details published alongside the announcement place Apex’s climax at the end of ENC’s official window. EWCF lists the overall ENC dates as November 2–29, 2026, and ENC scheduling materials associate Apex Legends finals with Nov. 26–29, 2026. Reporting that summarized EWCF’s competition structure captured the organizer’s plan as a "round-robin group stage where every group will face each other in a six-match series, leading to a 20-team match point final."

The ENC will run as a biennial, nation-vs-nation event produced by the Esports World Cup Foundation. Liquipedia’s event table and EWCF materials show per-title windows falling inside the Nov. 2–29 span: Dota 2 on Nov. 2–8 with a $1,500,000 prize pool and 32 teams; Chess on Nov. 2–8 with $600,000 and 128 players; VALORANT on Nov. 8–15 with 32 national teams; Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves on Nov. 11–15 with $250,000 and 32 players; Trackmania on Nov. 19–22 with $250,000 and 32 players; and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang on Nov. 23–29 with $1,500,000 and 32 teams. Multiple sources note that six of the 16 titles remained to be announced at the time of the Apex addition.

Publishers already tied to the ENC include EA/Respawn for Apex Legends, MOONTON Games for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, SNK for Fatal Fury, Chess.com, and others listed by EWCF and Liquipedia. PR Newswire documentation from Nov. 25, 2025 recorded EWCF’s earlier announcements adding Chess.com, MOONTON Games and SNK to the inaugural lineup. Liquipedia’s chronology records a steady rollout of confirmations in January and February 2026, with Dota 2 posted on Jan. 28, Mobile Legends on Jan. 25, Trackmania on Jan. 26, Fatal Fury on Feb. 4, Chess on Feb. 7, and Honor of Kings on Feb. 8.

Reporting by Esports Advocate contextualized the ENC’s funding and industry ties, noting that "Electronic Arts is in the midst of being sold to the Public Investment Fund (PIF)" and that, according to that reporting, PIF funds the broader Esports World Cup ecosystem. PR materials from EWCF frame the ENC’s mission as creating "a biennial global esports competition... that brings national pride to the world stage" and stress that the event is "built in collaboration with publishers, clubs, and esports organizations."

EWCF has asked followers to track updates on its social platforms, including X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn, as it finalizes qualification paths, venue specifics in Riyadh and the remaining title and prize pool confirmations. With Apex locked in for a late-November run and a 40-team field, national Apex rosters and qualifying formats now become a central item for federations and players ahead of ENC 2026.