This is probably the furthest we’ll ever go outside our usual scope, but there’s a neat little tournament brewing on the horizon. This week will host the final qualifiers for the Esports Nations Cup - the cousin of the Esports World Cup, but for entirely national squads - set to be held in Riyadh later this year.

If that’s the first you’ve heard of this tournament, and you’re anything like us, you’ve probably just rolled your eyes at that. WESG, IESF, and now this… when will TOs learn this doesn’t work?

But hold your horses - this one might work.

In short, the Esports Foundation has brewed up a rule set that forbids existing squads from competing in full, forcing them to form cursed mixed teams or bring stand-ins into their usual team dynamics. This being a Saudi Arabian project, of course, also brings with it a hefty bag for all those organisations that let their players go compete.

We know you have World Cup fever right now and immediately started brewing up your own ideal squad selection, but hold your horses. The squads of each country are decided by open qualifiers, and they’ve all just wrapped up.

The regional qualifiers start later today, and if we’re honest, most squads will have zero chance against the squads that actually tried to make a good team. Especially not Luxembourg.

But there are a few gems. The Western Europe qualifier should be dominated by the UK squad, headed up by AZUWU, Gizmy, smooya and CYPHER. It should come as no surprise that Eastern Europe - without Russia, notably - likewise should be an easy win for Ukraine, who take three from fnatic with support from sdy and DemQQ.

And looking over the other regions… those two teams should be in the final.

If things go as they should, ENC - as much as it will be fought in the doldrums of tier two - may become a unique moment in Counter-Strike history.

A UK squad may actually win something.