India earns direct invite to MOBA Legends: 5v5! at Esports Nations Cup 2026
The Esports Foundation has confirmed that India has received a direct invitation to compete in the MOBA Legends: 5v5! tournament at the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is scheduled to take place from November 2 to 29, 2026. The MOBA Legends: 5v5! competition will be held from November 23 to 29 and will feature 32 national teams contesting a USD 1.5 million prize pool.
The EF allocated 16 direct invitations through the ENC Rankings, which aggregate points earned by players from international, regional and select official competitions of the title, including the recently concluded Mid Season Cup (MSC) at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 in Paris. Fourteen additional places in the MOBA Legends: 5v5! field will be decided via regional online qualifiers scheduled for August 15 to 16, while the final two slots will be filled by wildcard invitations comprising one Host Region slot and one Solidarity slot.
India secured its place by accumulating 2,600 ENC Ranking points. The roster named to represent the country is Gaithanlung Gonmei (Kyle), Susanta Biswas (Kimyy), Abhijeet Katkar (Asuna), Rithik Sohal (Romcom) and Evancius A. Sangma (Vann), with Mohammad Saad (Apex) and Jay Mehta (J) listed as reserves.
Kyle, Kimyy and Asuna featured for True Rippers at the MSC during the EWC 2026 in Paris, where they secured a Top 16 finish in what was the first-ever appearance by an Indian team at that tournament. Earlier in the season the same trio won the MOBA Legends Masters Series (MLMS); both the Top 16 result and the MLMS victory contributed significantly to India’s ENC Ranking points.
Steve Vitug (Dale), earlier appointed by NODWIN Gaming, India’s National Team Partner (NTP) for ENC 2026, will serve as the squad’s coach. Speaking on the announcement, Steve Vitug (Dale), coach of India’s MOBA Legends: 5v5! team for ENC 2026, said, “One of the biggest strengths of this roster is the variety of experience each player brings. Every player has something unique to offer, whether it’s leadership, mechanics, or decision-making. Our focus over the coming months is to combine those strengths into a cohesive team with a clear identity and style of play. I am confident we’ll be ready to take on the challenge in Riyadh.”
The direct invite for MOBA Legends: 5v5! brings India’s confirmed representation at ENC 2026 to eight titles: Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), Chess, EA SPORTS FC, Honor of Kings, MOBA Legends: 5v5!, Rocket League, Trackmania and VALORANT. India’s EA SPORTS FC star Charanjot Singh also earned a direct invitation via the ENC Rankings, while the nation received Special Invites in BGMI and Honor of Kings.
In Chess, Grandmaster Nihal Sarin qualified directly through the official ENC Rankings and Mitrabha Guha secured his place through the regional qualifiers. India’s Rocket League team, VALORANT team and Trackmania star Kunal Upreti (Spark) earned their ENC 2026 berths via regional qualifiers; attention has turned to the ongoing EA SPORTS FC regional qualifiers, where Charanjot has already secured one of the country’s two available places through the FC Pro World Rankings and one more Indian player can qualify via the South Asia regional qualifier, which will advance four players to the ENC 2026 main event.
Regional online qualifiers for MOBA Legends: 5v5! are scheduled for August 15 to 16 to determine the 14 remaining places in the 32-team field, with the ENC main event staging MOBA Legends in Riyadh from November 23 to 29 and a USD 1.5 million prize pool on offer.