Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Belgium are the leaders in the European qualifiers for the 2026 Esports Nations Cup

The qualifying matches for the 2026 Esports Nations Cup have begun in Europe. Sixteen national teams are competing in the Western European qualifiers for four spots in the main stage of the tournament.

The German national team includes BIG players Johannes “tabseN” Wodarz and David “prosus” Hesse, M80 representatives Elias “s1n” Stein and Fritz “slaxz-” Dietrich, as well as former G2 Esports coach Jan “Swani” Müller as head coach.

Representing the United Kingdom are Owen “smooya” Butterfield, Kai “CYPHER” Watson, and Marco “MMS” Salomone, as well as Sebastian “volt” Malosh (INFINITE) and Oscar “AZUWU” Bell (Luminosity Gaming). Max “MiGHTYMAX” Heath serves as head coach.

The Belgian national team is represented by Nicolas “Keoz” Juss (GenOne), Jordan “Chuckyy” Molnar (GenOne), and Bram “Nexius” Campana (Nexus Gaming).

Playing for France are GenOne players Hugo “Brooxsy” Di Bono and Thomas “Djoko” Pavoni, as well as 3DMAX player Pierre “Ex3rcice” Bulinj. Joining them are Étienne “drac” Salayun and Julien “Tarkky” Buzogani.

Finland’s roster includes ENCE players Tomi “teme” Koukk, Mikael “millert” Niemi, and Henri “HENU” Julilahti, as well as Joe “joeski” Holmes from the Young Ninjas (NiP) Joe “joeski” Holmes. The fifth member of the team is Ville “myltsi” Vilkman.

The Esports Nations Cup is a major international tournament for national teams, where players represent their countries rather than their usual esports clubs. The current qualifiers will determine which teams will represent Western Europe in the event’s final stage.

Photo: Esports Foundation.