ECL S52 Cup 3 invites revealed with only 15 of 16 spots filled, what happened?
Earlier today, ESL announced the invites for ESL Challenger League Season 52 Cup 3. Though several notable squads like regain, Iowa Stormboar, and Overtake Sector headline the invite list, the lack of a full 16-team roster is a glaring dark spot.
Dust2.us3 Oct 2026 · 1 min read
Invites were given to teams based on the recent September VRS, and ESL only got enough acceptances to fill 15 of the 16 spots.
Though many teams have sound explanations for declining their invites, it's still a disappointing turnout for an event with a solid prize pool.
Going down the list, Liquid, M80, and Voca declined because they will be in Europe during the cup for LANs, leaving them unable to play. Additionally, many teams will be at FRAG University, which overlaps with the cup, making participation difficult.
That accounts for NRG, Wildcard, Without a Roof, Marsborne, Unreal Nightmare, and Elusive. Though it doesn't directly overlap with the event, the NSTLGA LAN in Texas is not far from the cup on the calendar.
NuTorious' CEO specifically cited this as the reason for their decline, and LAG is also at this event. It is worth noting that regain and Zomblers are registered for the NSTLGA LAN as well, but still accepted invites to the cup.
The only stable squad that doesn't have a clear reason for declining is Shimmer, though they declined their invitation to the last cup as well.
Opinion
Fictional bylines. Each take uses a line above and adds no facts.
Team Liquid can stand on this line: "Invites were given to teams based on the recent September VRS, and ESL only got enough acceptances to fill 15 of the 16 spots." It is already on the card, so the case does not need a streak or a roster rumor.
Leo Hart · optimist
