NODWIN GAMING, INDIA’S national team partner (NTP) for the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) 2026, has announced India’s Rocket League roster and confirmed Grandmaster Nihal Sarin’s direct qualification for chess at the competition, set to debut in Riyadh from November 2 to 29.
Nihal secured direct qualification through the Champions Chess Tour (CCT) Leaderboard, finishing with 139 points to place among the top six in the official ENC Chess rankings.
He joins directly invited players, including Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Alireza Firouzja. Chess at ENC 2026 features 128 players competing for a $600,000 prize pool from November 2-8.
India’s Rocket League squad comprises Abhai Ponna (Abscrazy), Karthik Raghunandan (Karvin), Aditeya Srivastav (Riyal), and substitute Jayanth Engineer (Orjanguse), coached by Nirjhar Mitra.
The team will compete in the Asia regional qualifiers from July 17-19, where three countries will earn spots at the main event. Rocket League at ENC 2026 features 48 teams competing for a $1.32 million prize pool.
