The IESF World Esports Championship 2026 (WEC26) will take place in Indonesia from December 15 to 20, 2026. The International Esports Federation announced the host in Nagoya, Japan, and confirmed that Indonesia will host the event for the third time. More than 500 athletes from over 110 member national federations are expected, and they will compete under their national flags.
This will be the 18th edition of the World Esports Championship. Indonesia previously hosted in Jakarta in 2016 and in Bali in 2022.
WEC26 at a glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Event | IESF World Esports Championship 2026 (WEC26) |
| Edition | 18th |
| Host country | Indonesia |
| Dates | December 15 to 20, 2026 |
| Games | Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, PUBG Mobile, eFootball |
| Official events | 7 |
| Expected athletes | 500+ |
| Member federations | 110+ |
| Host city and venue | Not announced |
| Prize pool | Not announced |
| 2027 host | Astana, Kazakhstan |
WEC26 games and official events
The confirmed game lineup is Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, PUBG Mobile and eFootball. Some games have separate open and women’s events. Ligagame reports seven official events in total, with Counter-Strike 2 and MLBB each running an open and a women’s tournament.
| Event | Platform | How nations get in |
|---|---|---|
| Counter-Strike 2 Open | PC | WEC25 qualifiers |
| Counter-Strike 2 Women | PC | WEC25 qualifiers |
| Dota 2 | PC | WEC25 qualifiers |
| PUBG Mobile | Mobile | WEC25 qualifiers |
| eFootball | Mobile | WEC24 qualifiers |
| MLBB Open | Mobile | Invitation via IESF Official Ranking System |
| MLBB Women | Mobile | Invitation via IESF Official Ranking System |
IESF also plans invitational tournaments alongside the main competition.
How WEC26 qualification works
Not every event uses the same route. Nations in eFootball are drawn from those that came through WEC24 qualifying. The two Counter-Strike 2 events, Dota 2 and PUBG Mobile use nations that qualified in the WEC25 cycle. Both MLBB events are filled by invitation, based on the IESF Official Ranking System.
This setup links back to 2025. In October 2025, IESF held only the MLBB events at WEC25 in Kuala Lumpur and said its other official competitions would move to 2026.
Federation eligibility and the September 30 deadline
Every member federation must pass an eligibility check before its entry is confirmed. Federations in good standing receive flight and hotel support. Federations that are not in good standing can still compete but must cover their own travel and accommodation. Suspended federations cannot take part.
IESF has set September 30, 2026 as the final date for federations to fix or complete their eligibility status. No further submissions or corrections will be accepted after that.
The IESF Ordinary General Meeting 2026 (OGM26) will also be held in Indonesia during the championship week. JAMMA reports that 152 member federations will take part in the general assembly. IESF will publish the meeting’s date, venue and agenda separately.
Why Indonesia is hosting again
Indonesia has a track record with this event. The 2022 championship ran in Bali from December 2 to 11, featured six games and carried a total prize pool of $500,000. You can look back at our preview of the IESF World Esports Championship in Bali for how that edition was set up.
Indonesia finished that year as overall champion, winning Dota 2, MLBB and eFootball.
IESF President Vlad Marinescu thanked Indonesian organizers and referred to “organizing the biggest esports event on a beach, in Bali 2022” as a shared achievement.
Recent World Esports Championship results
WEC25 was limited to Mobile Legends. It ran from December 3 to 7, 2025, in Malaysia with a $65,000 prize pool. According to IESF’s official WEC25 results, Malaysia won gold in MLBB Open, Cambodia took silver and Türkiye took bronze, while Indonesia won the MLBB Women’s title for the second year in a row.
WEC24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, had a wider lineup:
| WEC24 event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counter-Strike 2 | Romania | Portugal | Serbia |
| Counter-Strike 2 Women | Poland | France | Portugal |
| Dota 2 | Greece | Sweden | Türkiye |
| PUBG Mobile | Turkey | Ukraine | Brazil |
Romania beat Portugal in the Counter-Strike 2 final and received $100,000. In PUBG Mobile, Turkey finished with 213 points and won $40,000. Our full report covers how Turkey won the IESF PUBG Mobile title.
For older editions, Liquipedia keeps a record of the history of the World Esports Championships, which began in 2009 as the IESF Challenge.
WEC26 and the national team calendar
WEC26 is currently the main national team event at the end of 2026. Dot Esports noted that it fills a similar slot to the one left empty after the first Esports Nations Cup was pushed to November 2027. The Esports Nations Cup was postponed to November 2027 because of regional uncertainty, and it will stay in Riyadh.
IESF has already named Astana, Kazakhstan, as the host of the 2027 World Esports Championship.
What IESF has not announced yet
IESF has not yet published the tournament formats, full qualification details, prize pool or match schedule for each title. The host city, venue and final list of nations are also still pending. These details are expected before the event starts in December.
WEC26 FAQ
When is the IESF World Esports Championship 2026? It runs from December 15 to 20, 2026, in Indonesia.
Which games are in WEC26? Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, PUBG Mobile and eFootball, across seven events.
How many countries will take part? More than 110 member national federations are expected to send athletes.
Who hosts the World Esports Championship in 2027? Astana, Kazakhstan.
