The Korea eSports Association (KeSPA) has declined South Korea’s participation in the first edition of the Esports Nations Cup (ENC), according to a report by Sports Seoul.
The ENC, hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Esports Foundation (EF), is set to have its first run in Riyadh in November 2026, and has over a hundred countries participating across its many games. Per this report, South Korea’s KeSPA, the selected National Team Partner (NTP) for the country, won’t move forward with its delegation.
The ENC 2026 has appointed NTPs and National Team Managers (NTMs) for different countries. The NTPs are responsible for selecting teams to represent that nation at the ENC.
For countries without an appointed NTP, individual game coaches are being selected, either by the NTMs or the EF itself. These coaches are then entrusted with selecting the teams.
In South Korea, the EF selected KeSPA to form South Korea’s roster. KeSPA would form the team and the infrastructure, and coordinate between the different games.
However, the Esports Foundation reportedly tried to get certain players to be included in the team. It’s unclear who these were.
KeSPA selects their representatives based on their performances, the same way it did for the Asian Games. As such, it has no intention of allowing another entity to weigh in on that process by favoring certain players for other reasons.
An esports official from KeSPA commented: “Interfering with the composition of the national team itself has crossed the line. Every country has its own system, so this is a disrespectful act. […] They heavily promote the scale of the tournament, but considering the essence of a national competition, I wonder if Korea should even be participating.”
KeSPA refuses to let the ENC have a say in the composition of South Korea’s national team. Image source: Riot Games
Following this, the EF decided to remove KeSPA as the NTP for South Korea. The organizer will instead attempt to move forward with other ways to select a team for the country.
“The commitment to Korean players’ participation in ENC26 is unchanged. Over the coming week, we will engage directly with stakeholders across the Korean esports ecosystem, and with coaches and players, to align on the path forward so that the ENC26 Korean National Esports Team can compete at the level Korean fans and athletes deserve.”
However, the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee supports KeSPA’s stance. Furthermore, “only athletes selected through official member organizations are recognized as national representatives”, according to their representative.
This means that if the ENC picks another stakeholder to form a team for South Korea, they won’t be able to participate as South Korea’s representatives or use the national flag.
Following this dispute, South Korea is no longer listed on the tournament’s website. However, other countries also appear to be missing.
China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong no longer appear on the ENC’s platform either, despite being initially listed as participants. As it stands today, it appears that the participation of several of the best-performing nations in League of Legends at the ENC hangs in the balance.
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Featured image source: ENC
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