“It’s very sad for players and coaches”: Esports pros react to sudden Esports Nations Cup delay with further training, confusion, and a wedding

Choi “huhi” Jae-hyun wasn’t focused on the Esports Nations Cup. It was just one of three potential things he had on the calendar in the first few weeks.

If he and Sentinels made a magical run to the World Championships in Brooklyn, his club season would conclude on Nov. 14. Then, in the moments after that, he would have gotten on a plane and flown to Riyadh to participate in the Esports Nations Cup. Once that finished, huhi would have met his future parents-in-law in person for the first time and then watched his fiancée walk down the aisle for their wedding.

Luckily for huhi and his family, he won’t have to come home to a hectic wedding, as the Esports Nations Cup was postponed to 2027 due to “unprecedented international scale and the uncertainty created by the wider regional situation.”

“It was going to be a really crazy year for me,” huhi said to Esports Insider. “In some way, it works out. I’m trying to be calm, trying to help my wife, trying to figure out the wedding plan, and all those things. I feel like now, I can actually help her. I’m glad in some way, but I definitely want to be able to play in the ENC, if I get another chance next year.”

huhi is a United States citizen, renouncing his Korean citizenship for a country he feels an instinctive connection to. He was selected for and accepted Team USA’s support role, but it added another thing to his incredibly busy November.

For huhi, the natural challenges of planning a wedding, combined with the prospect of representing the United States in an international event, along with club responsibilities of qualifying for the League of Legends World Championships, put a lot of stress on his wife’s planning of the event.

He admitted to being stressed, but it was nowhere near the same level as his wife.

“She’s stressed,” huhi said. “I’m just kind of a lucky guy that I have an excuse for my work, like competition. ‘Oh, I’m sorry I have to go to practice,’ but my team is trying to give me half days off like that so I can go do a wedding meal tasting and stuff.”

The postponement naturally disappointed him ,but also provided a sense of relief knowing that once his club year ends, he can focus on having the best possible wedding.

“Now that ENC is gone, I guess I lose that opportunity,” he said. “But in some way, I get less stressed.”

huhi was just one player impacted by the postponement, and not all stress was the same.

Frankie “Zamudo” Lin was surprised that he was named to Team Canada, as its top laner. It meant he’d be joining highly touted Tier 1 names Joseph Joon “Jojopyun” Pyun, Fahad “Massu” Abdulmalek, and Philippe “Vulcan” Laflamme.

“I was incredibly happy,” Zamudo said.

Zamudo admitted his selection also came with a small bit of apprehension, combined with the excitement, some of which could be attributed to what is happening in the region. He didn’t confirm that was what he was scared about, but traveling to another region of the world does bring different kinds of uncertainty.

“I was kind of scared that something might happen when I went to the event,” he said. “Glad it’s postponed, but it definitely sucks that I can’t play at the end of the year. I thought it would be really cool to play in such a big competition.”

Similarly, Disguised jungler Christian “KryRa” Rahaian was also thrilled about being named to the Team Canada roster.

“I’m so excited,” KryRa said. “Because when I was young, like eight, seven, I wanted to be a pro soccer player and just play in the World Cup and stuff like that. It’s kind of a dream come true, mostly, like if I can play in the World Cup for a game, a video game, that I love.

“Getting selected is just insane. It’s going to be a nice event to be honest.”

Zamudo didn’t elaborate on what he plans to do with the extra time without scrims and competition during that time of the year, but KryRa revised his plans to fit in his annual trip to Romania and to take a one- to two-month trip to Korea to continue his improvement.

“I just want to get better in the off-season,” KryRa said.

KryRa was eligible to play for both Canada and Romania. He had the choice to represent Romania, his cultural heritage, or Canada, the nation of his birth.

He opted to represent Canada, despite Romania coach Razvan Nistor’s recruitment attempt.

Nistor, similar to the players, was saddened by the postponement.

But his disappointment comes from a different level: the uncertainty surrounding his players.

Esports players have short career spans. Life changes in a heartbeat and can take players out of the player pool.

Some top Romanian players including Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu and Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir were also targeted by Nistor, but both players retired.

Romania doesn’t have the same player pool as some of the more established European countries, such as Poland, France, and Spain. Additionally, those countries have strong club systems that allow teams to field national teams that have consistent club continuity.

“It was an opportunity to put some of the best [Romanian] players together and get them to work toward the same goal,” he said.

Now with the postponement, Nistor fears that his team may have a different look in 2027 between how they’re playing through 2027, the meta, and, more importantly, life.

“My support [Alexandru “whiteinn” Kolozsvari] and midlaner [Ronaldo “Ronaldo” Betea] are both 25-plus,” he said. “You never know how their life is going to change after this point, right? If one of them decides to retire or they’re out of form, whatever, do they still deserve the spot? Maybe because they qualified, but at the same time, from a competitive aspect, probably not.”

Nistor anticipates having to re-scout his roster, but also plans on using his time to help develop a deeper talent pool.

“I want to make a selection pool,” he said. “A Discord or something where I invite all the potential players that could be scouted for Romania. For example, we had 45ish players that applied for the national team out of 60 players.”

For a person who does this coaching for the love of the nation and seemingly works around the clock – he’s been known to be awake at 4 a.m. to help NRG in their NACL run – this is a time commitment that he is both willing to do but also is realistic about.

“[I’d try to] give them a couple of resources on how to improve with a small time commitment for me,” Nistor said. “Realistically, I don’t have a lot of time to improve 60 players.”

The disappointment of having to wait a year to wear their respective nation’s colors was clear.

For Team Canada and Team USA, their League of Legends spots are likely to remain through the 2027 competitive season. But for Team Romania, Nistor has concerns with the unanswered question: How will the Esports Foundation treat the teams that have qualified?

“There were qualifiers and a couple of teams qualified, a couple didn’t,” he said. “Would they keep those teams qualified? I think that would be the right choice because we put a lot of effort into this.”

Additionally, it is unclear whether players who were selected will keep their spots on the seven-man roster.

“They should have a selection rule,” Nistor suggested. “You had a roster made up of seven players, right? At least four should stay. At least the basic three out of five rule.”

The Esports Foundation plans to reveal more details in the future, as stakeholders regroup following the conclusion of the 2026 edition of the Esports World Cup.

Nistor understands that the event needed to be delayed, and while he is disappointed, the wait will be worth it once he and his team put on their team kits.

“Feeling of being a part of your national team is something that not a lot of things can match,” Nistor said. “This delay makes sense for their plan, but it’s very sad for the general public and all the players, coaches, et cetera.”