The Esports Nations Cup (ENC), which was scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November this year, has been postponed for a year due to the fallout from the Iran war.
On the 19th, the Saudi Esports Federation (EF) said, "After continuous review of the overall situation in the region and consultations with key stakeholders, we decided to postpone the ENC to November 2027."
EF explained, "After reviewing the regional situation, we determined that postponing the tournament is a responsible decision to ensure the stability and predictability expected by national teams, game publishers, partners, and fans." EF added that the ENC development fund support commitments for national team partners and related ecosystem development programs will continue regardless of the schedule change.
ENC is an international esports national competition in which players representing more than 100 countries and regions compete across various game titles. It was newly launched early this year to complement the Esports World Cup (EWC), which EF has hosted annually with a club focus.
Ralf Reichert, EF chief executive officer (CEO), said, "Although the schedule has changed to a Riyadh event next year, our commitment to ENC has not changed," and "We will continue to invest in national team partners, collaborate with game publishers, and keep building country-level esports ecosystems."