87 Teams Advance to Esports Nations Cup Qualifiers for $1.32M Event

The national open qualifiers for the Esports Nations Cup have wrapped up, with 87 teams progressing to the regional qualifier stage. These teams will compete for 24 coveted spots at the main event, which boasts a prize pool of $1.32 million and is scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 10 to 15.

Organized by the Esports World Cup Foundation, this year's qualifiers were touted as the largest open qualifier in Counter-Strike history. Originally, 96 open qualifiers were planned globally; however, nine national qualifiers were canceled due to a lack of participating teams, resulting in the final count of 87 teams.

Among the notable participants, several rosters featured well-known players forming mixed teams. For instance, a Ukrainian lineup included members from the fnatic core, while the Bulgarian qualifier was topped by the Acend core. Germany's qualifier saw a combination of players from M80 and BIG, including former G2 captain Jan "Swani" Müller as coach.

In North America, notable players such as Joshua "steel" Nissan and Justin "FaNg" Coakley will represent Canada, while Guatemala's Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa also qualified. The Oceania region will see a duo from FlyQuest joining forces with players from THUNDER dOWNUNDER to represent Australia.

The competition is set to intensify as these 87 teams prepare for the upcoming regional qualifiers, which will take place from July 17 to 19.