The journey to the massive Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 in Riyadh is officially underway. As teams across the globe gear up for the Honor of Kings World Cup (KWC) qualifiers, including the highly anticipated King’s Arise India event, organizers have officially laid out the competitive roster rulebook.
Before locking in your squad for a shot at the global stage, it is absolutely crucial to understand the strict regional eligibility and import guidelines. Here is a complete breakdown of the 2026 roster requirements.
KWC at EWC 2026: Player Roster Limits and the Import Rule
In order to ensure competition integrity during the entire league cycle, each team competing in the series must field at least five key players and have a maximum of eight players on its active roster.
Additionally, the KWC league has a very stringent “Import Rule.” Each team is allowed to recruit no more than one non-resident player from outside its home Regional Division.
Understanding Regional Residency Requirements
The Honor of Kings Esports league structure for the year 2026 consists of six different leagues: Americas, Europe, MEA, Pacific (consisting of South Asia, South Korea, Japan, and Australia), Southeast Asia, and Greater China. The Indian teams will be participating in the Pacific League.
The following criteria must be fulfilled by the team to become eligible for participation in the competition:
- National Representation Criteria: Three players on the team should be the legal residents of the particular nation that the team represents.
- League Representation Criteria: Four players out of those discussed above should be residents of the particular league that the team represents.
Furthermore, it is clearly defined that any player who holds nationality or citizenship of the Greater China Division and wishes to play in any other division is automatically considered an “imported player.”
