The Esports World Cup Foundation has revealed Dota 2 as the third title to be part of the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC).
Valve’s MOBA is one of 16 titles set to be featured at the multi-national esports event taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this November.
From November 2nd to November 8th, 32 national teams will compete across a round-robin Group Stage and a single-elimination bracket.
Similar to other titles at the Esports Nations Cup, the event will use a National Team Ranking to determine which nations receive direct invitations. The ranking system will consider the results of Tier 1 tournaments, awarding organisations points based on their placements.
These points will be shared among the players who competed at the event. The National Ranking will then accumulate the points of the top five players from the national roster.
In addition to the direct invites, 14 teams will earn their place through online qualifiers taking place across eight regions from June 16th to July 5th. The regions taking part and their slot allocations are as follows:
- North America: 1 slot
- South America: 2 slots
- Western Europe: 2 slots
- Eastern Europe: 2 slots
- Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia: 2 slots
- Central and South Africa: 1 slot
- South and East Asia: 2 slots
- Southeast Asia and Oceania: 2 slots
Dota 2 and Saudi Arabia
The Dota 2 esports circuit is no stranger to events being hosted in Saudi Arabia. In recent years, ESL and the Saudi Esports Federation organised the Riyadh Masters, an annual Tier 1 event that attracts the world’s best teams and features massive prize pools. For instance, the 2023 edition had a prize pool of $15m (~£10.8m) on the line.
Since 2024, the Riyadh Masters has been integrated into Esports World Cup, a multi-title event also operated by the Esports World Cup Foundation.
Dota 2 joins Trackmania and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang as confirmed titles at the Esports Nations Cup, with more additions to be announced in the coming months.
