The Esports Foundation (EF) today confirmed the official roster submissions, direct invite recipients, and online regional qualifier winners for the Honor of Kings tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC), the global nation-based esports competition set to debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from November 2-29, 2026.
64 rosters representing 64 countries and territories have been officially submitted and confirmed for the Honor of Kings tournament. 24 of those rosters will compete at the ENC Finals, with 12 receiving a direct invitation through the ENC Rankings, which aggregates points earned by players based on their placements in official Honor of Kings events.
12 teams that received a direct invitation through their ENC Ranking score:
MALAYSIA – Siang, MusangKing, ZhiHong, JR, Weipit, Xuan
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA – Xin, XiaoXue, TingYue, jHao, WuYan, YiNuo
PHILIPPINES – Chammy1, Juschie, Tatsurii, Daniii, Chazz, Azar
BRAZIL – Freaks, Abh, 0Ne, Lefy, Vilao1, Dani, ySacer
REPUBLIC OF KOREA – KYoung9, HAKU, Illusion, SIRI, Fey
INDONESIA – Senko, Enyx, Bal, Nev, SRD, Zaan
ITALY – TGold, Nighty, Luxi, Raiiku, KoZy, Sam, Higan
FRANCE – Clue, Nabil, Wawa, Inua, Benji, P1ggy, Budei
GERMANY – Vann, Hailang, 3005, Another, HengeZ, Jasch, Lianorn
CAMBODIA – Chigiri, Shimo, Stark1ng, Yhwach, BOYMOND, Kingkriz, SuGi
HONG KONG, CHINA – Myosotis, Snow, L, Zaiz, Lived, GGbond, Fable
THAILAND – Yuseong, Valdus, Bandsjaaa, VVV, TAOZ, Syndicate
In addition to these 12 invited countries and territories, 10 more teams earned their spot in the main event through online regional qualifiers across North America & Latin America North, Latin America South, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Central & East Asia, Southeast Asia & Oceania, and South Asia. An additional slot has gone to the team representing Saudi Arabia, who secured the Host Region Wildcard as the next highest-placing competitor from the GCC region.
The final slots will be determined by a Special Invite to a team from India, and one Solidarity Wildcard slot for an underrepresented region to compete on the world stage, which will be announced at the end of August once all ENC qualifiers have been completed.
Here’s the full list of countries and territories that qualified through online regional qualifiers:
North America & Latin America North: United States of America
Latin America South: Argentina
Western Europe: Spain
Eastern Europe: Türkiye
Middle East: Iraq
Africa: Tunisia
Central & East Asia: Kazakhstan
Southeast Asia & Oceania: Myanmar
South Asia: Bangladesh
Host Region Slot: Saudi Arabia
Expectations are sky high for the roster representing Malaysia, who will be driven by a prolific Club trio in Siang, ZhiHong, and JR, stepping up on behalf of Aurora Gaming. This trio, who coincidentally were playing under the All Gamers banner themselves earlier this year, will be joined by ROC Esports duo Xuan and Weipit, as well as Geekay Esports’ MusangKing, who reunites with multiple teammates with whom he won an International Championship with.
Just behind Malaysia near the top of the rankings is a team that should surprise no one. The People’s Republic of China has been the dominant region in Honor of Kings, and they are fielding an all-star team at ENC. Highlighting the team is AG Super Play star YiNuo, one of the most influential and decorated Honor of Kings players in the world. The EWC 2025 winner and two-time King Pro League champion is joined by a championship-level core of domestic trophy winners and superstars: Kuaishou Gaming duo WuYan and jHao, Weibo Gaming’s TingYue, Talent Gaming’s XiaoXue, and Wolves’ Xin.
The consensus top European Honor of Kings roster playing for Virtus.pro is well represented across the invites, via Italian duo TGold and Nighty, German middle player Hailang, and French roamer Clue. VP’s first place result at the Honor of Kings Major League Spring 2026 this past March not only secured the Club a place at EWC 2026, but it also effectively guaranteed all its European players would represent their nations at ENC. While neither of these individual teams are consensus favorites at ENC, the top-level experience from their main stars is nothing to take lightly.
The Philippines arrives at ENC as one of the tournament’s more battle-tested squads, having claimed the No. 3 spot in the overall ENC Rankings to lock up its direct invite. Representing the country under the Sibol Pilipinas banner, the roster is anchored by Blacklist International trio Chammy1, Juschie, and Chazz, who helped the club capture the Philippine Kings League Fall 2025 title, alongside BOOM Esports duo Daniii and Tatsurii, back-to-back PKL Spring champions in 2025 and 2026, and TNT Tropang Alab’s Azar. Gerald “Tgee” Gelacio, Blacklist International’s head coach, will lead the squad in Riyadh.
The online qualifiers saw a number of upsets and surprises. The United States of America defied the odds with a miraculous undefeated run, defeating Puerto Rico and Colombia before upsetting Mexico not once but twice to claim the North America & LATAM North spot, all without dropping a single game. Spain will compete at its first international HoK tournament after back-to-back flawless victories against Ireland.
The full list of qualified players and nations can be viewed directly on the Honor of Kings page of the ENC website.
The rise of Honor of Kings in ENC also tracks a broader boom for the title in the Philippines since its competitive scene launched in 2024. Organizers and publishers alike have pointed to the passion of Filipino fans as a key driver of the game’s growing footprint in the region, with rising viewership and a deepening pool of competitive teams. That expanding domestic scene is now directly strengthening the Philippine’ ENC roster.
The Honor of Kings tournament at ENC will begin on November 24 and will conclude with the Grand Final on November 29. The first stage will be a 24-team round-robin group stage featuring four groups of six teams. The top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs, a 16-team single-elimination bracket concluding with the Grand Final.
