South Korea has withdrawn from the Esports Nations Cup due to the organizers' actions: what happened

27.04.2026

118

4 min.

Representatives of the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) have reported attempts by the organizers of the Esports Nations Cup 2026 to directly and indirectly influence the composition of the national team. Due to this interference, the association has decided to withdraw from the tournament. Korean media have reported this.

The Korean e-Sports Association had been a partner of the ENC in forming the national team. KeSPA noted that the selection of national team members is carried out through strict internal procedures, and interference by an external organizer undermines the independence and fairness of the selection process.

South Korea remains on the list of teams eligible to participate in the *Esports Nations Cup*, but the Korean e-Sports Association has been officially removed from the list of partners.

Following the Korean e-Sports Association’s refusal to cooperate, the organizers of the Esports Nations Cup 2026 announced that they would attempt to negotiate directly with the players and coaches. ENC representatives explained this by their desire to see the best professionals at the competition, based on their personal achievements rather than on the decisions of the esports association.

A representative of the Korean Olympic Committee responded to this statement. According to him, only athletes selected through official organizations are recognized as national representatives. A team formed without the association’s involvement will be prohibited from using national symbols at the competition and from referring to itself as “Team Korea” or a “national representative”.

Esports Nations Cup 2026 will take place from 02.11.2026 to 08.11.2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The championship will feature competitions in 16 esports disciplines. More than 100 national teams will compete for a prize pool of $20,000,000.

At the time of writing, it is unknown in which specific disciplines the ENC organizers influenced the composition of the South Korean national team, nor whether the country will ultimately be represented at the competition. In addition, the partners and managers of the Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong national teams have been removed from the official Esports Nations Cup website, likely due to political disagreements regarding the representation of these teams.

As CyberScore previously reported, the star-studded coaching staff for the Esports Nations Cup has been announced.