FUT Esports have secured the final slot at the
Rocket League Esports World Cup by triumphing over
Team Stallions in the grand finals, defeating the MENA representatives in the second best-of-seven of a bracket reset. FUT Esports
avoided a day-one exit to qualify for the top 16 before going unbeaten in the upper bracket with wins over
Gen.G Mobil1 Racing,
Volare,
NOKAR Esport, and grand final opponents Stallions. Team Stallions threatened to spoil proceedings, reversing their winners final defeat by beating FUT Esports 4-2 in the initial best-of-seven to secure a bracket reset in the grand final. However, Carlos
"CHEESE." Aguado, Justin
"jstn." Morales and Nick
"Chronic" Iwanski showed resourcefulness, overcoming their Saudi Arabian opponents 4-2 in the second best-of-seven to reach the EWC Main Event with the series ending on a nervous 4 minute overtime.
FUT Esports came into the event as the second seed following a successful RLCS 2026 Split 2. The in-form North American squad had just secured qualification to the 2026 World Championship through the LCQ and earned a 9th-12th finish at the Paris Major. The organization sacrificed all their RLCS ranking points to bring in jstn and Chronic at the start of Split having missed out on the Boston Major. A gamble that had its naysayers, but has now proven fruitful for the team. They will end the year with appearances at a trifecta of important LAN events, when the season threatened to be a disappointing one. This ushers in a career revival for jstn, who will reach his sixth LAN in two years after failing to qualify for any between 2023-24.
A brutal bloodbath
Day three of the EWC LCQ always promised to be an exciting bracket and it delivered on all counts. The qualifier provided upsets, gauntlet runs, and a bracket reset in the grand final to finish. Team Stallions were one of the surprise packages. Coming into the event as the sixth seed, they punched well above their weight as MENA’s single representative in the qualifier. They defeated teams from all the other regions represented in the LCQ, including L'Antique Esport, BS+COMPETITION, and Geekay Esports before being sent to the lower bracket by FUT Esports, who reversed swept Team Stallions in the winners final. Virtus.pro, who had been fighting for their lives in the lower bracket, winning five straight series in a row after being knocked down by Volare 1-3, faced Team Stallions in the lower finals. Ultimately with exhaustion setting in for Virtus.pro, they were unable to match the MENA upstarts who brushed them aside in a 3-1 win to reach the grand finals.
Many other teams suffered the same fate in this bracket. Gen.G Mobil1 Racing came in as the fifth seed in the tournament but were forced to face FUT Esports in their opening series, after the eventual winners dropped a series to Criminals on day one. They narrowly lost 2-3, but were then matched up against Virtus.pro, who defeated them 1-3 and proved to be the undoing of many teams in the bracket. The Cohen "Tawk" Hawco-led squad swept Europe’s top two seeds Man City Esports and PCS Stride, after both had been defeated by Geekay Esports in the upper bracket. Fan-favourites The LANimals did suggest they could make a lower bracket run after beating M80, but were ultimately knocked out by PCS Stride. Jack "ApparentlyJack" Benton’s Dignitas were unfortunate enough to face Man City Esports in the upper bracket and then PCS Stride in the lower bracket, taking both teams to a five-game series but were unable to get it a result over the line. The best performer in comparison to their seed were NOKAR Esport, who had recruited Liam "yujin" Daillac in the build-up to the event, securing a 5th-6th finish with wins over NOVO Esports and M80.
The qualifier proved to be as chaotic as people expected, with varying results for many teams. Man City Esports, PCS Stride, and Virtus.pro will all lick their wounds ahead of the 2026 World Championship, while Team Stallions produced a memorable performance to end their season. FUT Esports will forge ahead in the competition, coming into group A where they face MENA's #1 seed Twisted Minds in their opening match on August 12. A full breakdown of the schedule and teams to feature at the EWC can be found below.
