RIYADH: The Esports Foundation has confirmed the appointment of over 700 game coaches from more than 100 nations and territories for the Esports Nations Cup 2026, the global nation-based esports competition which will be held in Riyadh from Nov. 2-29.
The announcement marks the start of team roster selections, due by May 10, with coaches responsible for identifying players, defining team strategy and building competitive lineups.
Drawn from more than 90 leading esports organizations around the world, the group includes world champions, established leaders and rising stars, connecting team development directly to the highest level of competition.
In League of Legends, LEC stalwart and G2 Esports coach Dylan Falco (Canada) will take on rising coaching stars like Quentin “Zeph” Viguie (France) and Jonas “Memento” Elmarghichi (Morocco). In Rocket League, the Netherlands’ Jos “ViolentPanda” van Meurs brings a world-championship legacy, while the youngest coach in the field, Abdulrahman Saad “d7oom-24” Bin Fayez, age 22, will lead a strong contender in Saudi Arabia.
International appointments will also cross borders, including Swedish legend Fabian “Fabian” Hallsten coaching the US’ Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege team alongside Brazil’s Guilherme “gohaN” Alf coaching Indonesia.
The appointments also highlight a growing group of female coaches. In PUBG MOBILE, Camila “Mia” Lopez (Chile), a professional manager, analyst and coach, brings experience from the global mobile circuit, while Nikol “Kehayoyo” Kehayova will look to lead Poland. In other titles, Sabrina “SYA” Starke (Germany) heads up Honor of Kings and Angela “Kaylio” Sun Zhou (Australia) steps in for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, while in VALORANT Felicia “Felly” Cersac (Moldova) and Syeda “Skel” Samman (Pakistan) will lead teams from emerging markets.
“The Esports Nations Cup is being built step by step, and appointing team coaches is the next critical layer in that structure,” said EF CEO Ralf Reichert. “If teams are what make esports intuitive for a mainstream audience, coaches are what make them credible for players and fans. They bring identity, direction, and standards to each team. With more than 700 coaches now in place across over 100 National Team Partners, we’re turning the idea of nation-based competition into something people can understand instantly and believe in — a system that is structured, real, and ready to perform on the world stage.”
Coaches from the remaining nations and territories, including those without an NTP, will be announced at a later date. Attention now turns to finalizing player selections, as teams take shape ahead of the ENC’s global qualification pathway. Competitors in solo-player games as well as the remaining team-based titles will be identified through full open qualifiers, with details to be announced in the coming weeks.
