St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. (March 25, 2026)

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‍USA Esports, a new nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to support gamers at every level and to promote esports in America, today formally announced its participation in the upcoming Esports Nations Cup (ENC). 

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This tournament marks a significant milestone for organized international esports competition and will be the first opportunity for Americans to compete and unite under the USA Esports banner. It serves as a foundational step in USA Esports’ mission to build a sustainable, inclusive future for American gamers. 

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“As a public charity, USA Esports recognizes its responsibility to serve as a steward for competitive gamers across the entire United States,” said Jesse Bodony, USA Esports President and CEO. “Through the Esports Nations Cup, the United States can be at the table, alongside many other nations, helping define what international esports looks like now and for years to come.

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The inaugural Esports Nations Cup is organized by the Esports World Cup Foundation and is scheduled to take place in November 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of a four-week esports event. The event will feature 16 titles across team-based and solo-player formats. Confirmed titles include Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, VALORANT, Dota 2, Apex Legends, Rocket League, EA Sports FC, PUBG, PUBG Mobile, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Honor of Kings, Rainbow Six Siege, Trackmania, and Chess, among others.

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Building a United Front

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"The United States boasts one of the most developed esports markets in the world, yet it has long lacked a unified, representative banner spanning all levels of competition," said Daniel Clerke, National Team Manager for USA Esports. "By joining the Esports Nations Cup, we hope to prove that an independent, athlete-first organization can successfully manage national representation while maintaining the highest ethical standards. This is about showing the community what a coordinated American ecosystem looks like." 

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That coordination is already underway with USA Esports partnering with a growing network of collegiate institutions and professional clubs to align the American esports ecosystem under a shared set of standards and goals. As part of this alignment and ENC bid, the United States Esports Federation has also moved to join efforts with USA Esports. With a unified American delegation, the ENC offers the first real opportunity to demonstrate what USA Esports can accomplish when its stakeholders pull in the same direction.

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A Commitment to Inclusive Excellence 

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USA Esports is built on the belief that a representative organization must actively work to remove the structural barriers that have historically kept players from reaching the highest levels of competition. Inclusion is foundational to how the organization operates, from how to structure competitive pathways to how we make decisions at the governance level. Our goal is to ensure that the pathway to high-level competition is transparent, accessible, and shaped by merit, not by the resources a player started with, the community they come from, or the barriers they were never responsible for creating.

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“What excites me most is what this opens up for the next generation of players,” said Dr. Bowen Chung, Board Chair of USA Esports. “Every youngster picking up a controller or sitting down at a keyboard deserves to know there’s a pathway from their living room to the biggest esports stages in the world.”

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About USA Esports 

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USA Esports is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established to serve as an independent, sustainable representative body for esports in the United States. USA Esports works collaboratively with stakeholders to advance the full pipeline of esports competition in the United States.

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Contact: contact@usaesports.us