The Esports Nations Cup qualifiers kicks off its League of Legends road this week. Europe runs two separate qualifiers, EU West and EU East, each with two spots up for grabs, and the EU West bracket starts on June 19. Fourteen national teams enter it, but only two will book a ticket to the main event, held in Riyadh from November 21 to 29. A good chunk of Europe is already there: France, Spain, Denmark, Sweden and Poland were among the sixteen nations handed direct invites based on the ENC ranking. For the rest, these regional qualifiers are the last way in.
The format
It is a double elimination bracket. Qualification matches are best of three, every other match is a BO1. The two nations that come out on top qualify for ENC 2026 in Riyadh. The first ticket goes to the winner of the upper bracket final. The second comes down to the last match of the run, where the upper bracket final loser faces the winner of the lower bracket final. That decider is set for 21:00 CEST on June 21.
One detail to note on the bracket: Germany and Italy do not play the opening round. Both nations are seeded straight into the second round of the upper bracket on the back of their higher ranking, which gives them a shorter path and one fewer Bo1 to worry about early on.
The favourites
Germany are a clear favorite. With Irrelevant and anchoring the squad, plus their second-round seeding, the German side has both the talent and the bracket position to reach the qualifying spots. The single-game format can punish anyone, but their bye through the first round limits the early variance.
