The Esports Nations Cup officially confirmed Street Fighter 6 as part of its 2026 lineup, with the tournament set to run from Nov. 18 to 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The event will include a $880,000 prize pool for 24 competing players, all of whom will be representing their home nations. Rather than traditional 1v1 brackets, the ENC will use a 4-on-4 Team Battle format. Each match will consist of four separate 1v1 games, with a different player stepping up each time. If the score hits 2-2, a sudden-death tiebreaker will decide the outcome.
The group stage will feature all 24 teams split into four round-robin groups of six. The top four from each group advance, leaving 16 teams to fight it out in a single-elimination playoff. Matches throughout the bracket are best-of-four, while the grand final steps it up to a best-of-eight.
How teams are selected for Street Fighter 6 at Esports Nations Cup 2026
Street Fighter 6 will see 24 national teams competing at the Esports Nations Cup 2026, and the qualification follows two separate paths depending on a nation’s standing.
The top 12 teams will be directly invited based on a newly created ENC Street Fighter 6 National Team Ranking system, 10 teams will qualify through regional qualifiers, and two teams will come through Wildcard slots.
The direct invites will be done via an SF6 National Team Ranking system that takes into account a set of tournaments from the beginning of 2025 until June 28, 2026, including EVO Vegas 2026.
Each team consists of four players with one team captain. Players will be awarded points based on their performances at these events. The national ranking will accumulate the points of the top three-ranked players from each nation to determine the invited teams.
The regional qualifiers will take place from June 30 through July 3, and these matches will be double-elimination bracket solo player tournaments.
The winning players of each regional qualifier will secure a slot for their nation, as well as a spot for themselves on the national team roster. The 10 regional qualifiers will take place in the following regions:
- South + East Asia (one slot)
- Southeast Asia (one slot)
- Oceania (one slot)
- North America (one slot)
- Central America (one slot)
- South America (one slot)
- Western Europe (one slot)
- Eastern Europe (one slot)
- Middle East (one slot)
- Africa (one slot)
Invited nations and Wildcard teams consist of the top-ranked player from the 2026 World Warrior Ranking, joined by the three highest-ranked players according to the Street Fighter 6 National Team Ranking.
For qualified nations, teams will include the regional qualifier winner, the top player from the 2026 World Warrior Ranking (up until the second tournament of each region), and the top two players from the Street Fighter 6 National Team Ranking.
If a nation lacks enough ranked players to fill a 4-player roster, the National Team Manager or Team Captain may select remaining players, subject to ENC Administration approval.
The competition draws from regions across the globe, including North America, South America, EU West, EU East, the Middle East, India, Central Asia, North Africa, South and Central Africa, South and East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania, all of which have representation slots.
Japan was long considered the heartbeat of offline Street Fighter competition, and is expected to be one of the heavyweights heading into the event. But the Americas and Europe have consistently produced elite SF6 talent, and with national pride on the line, we might see some upsets as well.
