With the
RLCS 2026 World Championship set to kick off on September 15, players from around the world will be competing for the top prize
Rocket League has to offer. Among these players are eight debutants appearing at the World Championship for the very first time in their careers as fresh talents or older, savvy professionals. None of these players are strangers to LAN, some have already had careers that many would be proud of, but now have ambitions of going one step further this season. Five regions are represented by these professionals including North America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Asia-Pacific, and finally, Sub-Saharan Africa.
Eight debutants, six organizations and five regions. Credit: Will Connell
All these debutants have deeply rooted storylines in the scene; many have already dominated their domestic scenes, while others have spent years on the grind to get to this moment. In this article, Sheep Esports introduces you to the background of these professionals, presents their previous achievements and takes you through the history of their careers as they travelled their way to the pinnacle of Rocket League Esports.
🏴 Accro - Man City Esports
accro competing at the RLCS 2026 Paris Major. Credit: Michał Konkol | BLAST.tv
One of two players making their debut under the Man City Esports banner, Aston "accro" Smith has had a slow and steady rise to the upper tier of European Rocket League. The 21-year-old began to make inroads into the scene during the COVID-era and has been in and out of the RLCS since the 2021-22 season. As a late bloomer, he only earned his first top-four at a Regional Open during RLCS 2025, four whole years after his debut in the competition.
He has competed for organizations like WYLDE and Guild Esports, but his career is now peaking with Man City Esports whom he joined ahead of RLCS 2026 alongside ejby and Christian Fabricius "TempoH" Mortensen. The team proved to be strong contenders in Split #1 but missed out on the Boston Major by a whisker following a tiebreaker loss to Geekay Esports. After the shrewd addition of former World Champion Enzo "Seikoo" Grondein, the team reached the Paris Major, earning a top-six placement in accro’s first RLCS LAN. Coming off his most successful year in the esport, The Englishman continues to add notches to a growing RLCS resume and could surprise people at the World Championship.
🇧🇷 Diaz - Spacestation Gaming
diaz competing at the Boston Major with Spacestation Gaming. Credit: Michał Konkol | BLAST.tv
If there was one debutant you could name as the most exciting, it would be João "diaz" Henrique. The 18-year-old has already had a career any professional would be proud of at his age. Appearing in two regions and across multiple game modes, the Brazilian kick started his path to pro as a strong 1v1 player, featuring in multiple streamed matches and tournaments, even before his debut in the RLCS. By RLCS 2024, he was a well-known prospect on the ranked ladder and made his debut with W7M Esports that season. He swiftly rose in status, joining Complexity as a replacement for Ivan "Dorito" Jiménez in Split 2.
He followed the organization during their return to North America for RLCS 2025, making his first RLCS LAN appearance at the Birmingham Major, earning a win against former regional rivals Team Secret. While the team’s form dropped off towards the end of the season, missing out on the 2025 World Championship despite the addition of Kenneth
"frosty" Walz, diaz showed his potential. The Brazilian managed as an individual to win the NA 1v1 Open, setting up a LAN match versus Nwpo at the Raleigh Major, a game he ultimately lost 1-4. He Joined
Spacestation Gaming for RLCS 2026, quickly levelling up his game to make appearances at the Kick-Off Weekend and both Majors, while winning the first Regional Open of his career. Having qualified for the 2026 World Championship, diaz helped Spacestation Gaming earn their best LAN placement of the year, surprising the scene by reaching the grand finals of the
Esports World Cup. The Brazilian, who is already on track to become one of the great imported talents to North America, is now at the head of a great youthful team that has the ability to go far in this upcoming tournament.
🇩🇰 Ejby - Man City Esports
Ejby featured on stage at the RLCS 2026 Paris Major. Credit: Michał Konkol | BLAST.tv
As a long-time bubble player who made his debut in the RLCS over six years ago, there was period in William "ejby" Ejby Lorentzen’s career where a World Championship appearance may have only felt like a distant hope. Yet, the 22-year-old has proven an enduring professional, slowly growing his game over a number of years from RLCS obscurity to LAN competitor. He made his debut in the RLCS during Season X and was even sighted as early as Season 8, competing in the Rival Series Play-In. There was over a three year gap between his last appearance in Season X and his next RLCS appearance in 2024.
Joining Man City Esports for RLCS 2026, his first high-profile organization since he played for Nordavind (00Nation) in 2021, he has gone on to become a regular at the high end of the European scene. He earned his first top-four finish at a Regional Open this year, before securing a place at the Paris Major, his first RLCS LAN. With a top-six finish at the event, he became the highest-placing Danish player at an RLCS LAN since Nicolai "Snaski" Vistesen Andersen finished in the top four during the RLCS Season 3 World Championship with The Leftovers. While ejby still has a ways to match Emil "fruity" Moselund’s record of three RLCS World Championship appearances, reaching the 2026 edition was already a monumental effort by the Danish professional. He will hope he can be as enduring at this level of competition as he has been in recent domestic seasons.
🇿🇦 Gunz - Five Fears
gunz competing at the RLCS 2026 Boston Major. Credit: Michał Konkol | BLAST.tv
South Africa’s Brayden "gunz" Keith represents Sub-Saharan Africa’s greatest domestic hope of closing the gap with the other regions. The 19-year-old is the region’s signature prospect having emerged as a talent following his debut during RLCS 2022-23. He earned multiple top-four finishes over the next three seasons, surviving the mass influx of more experienced European players who came to compete in the region following residency rule changes in 2024. He represented South Africa at the FIFAe World Cup 2025 and is expected to do so again this year having made it through the African Continental Championship. His first Major LAN was a surprise appearance at EWC 2024 when two SSA teams were invited to the event.
Gunz joined Five Fears at the start of RLCS 2026, alongside his South African teammate Gareth "Snowyy" Spier and the Spaniard Óscar "tehqoz" Arco, who is widely considered the most high-profile import to the region since its entry into the RLCS. Together, they won all but one Regional Open and built a domestic winning streak that stretches back just under ten months in the RLCS. They qualified for all major LANs this season, but failed to pick up a single game at the Boston Major, Paris Major, and the EWC. Gunz cemented his position as one of the top players in the region by also winning the 1v1 and 2v2 SSA Opens that happened at the end of the regular season. The World Championships offers a tantalizing opportunity for gunz to gather more and more experience as he establishes himself as a core representative of his region internationally.
🇹🇭 Kevin - TSM
Kevin competing for TSM at the Paris Major. Credit: Michał Konkol | BLAST.tv
Having only been able to field one team at a World Championship since Asia-Pacific lost one of its two slots following RLCS 2022-23, it's been difficult for the region to show off its top talents, especially with the amount of imports that have streamed into the region. However, this year Kevin "Kevin" Ameye has finally got his chance with TSM. The 22-year-old represents something of an old guard in APAC, having been a consistent figure in the RLCS since it was introduced as a two-part region for RLCS 2021-22, winning his first Regional Open that season. He hasn’t quite built up the LAN appearances that some other legacy APAC players can show off, but he did make his first RLCS LAN in Copenhagen with Elevate during RLCS 2024. He also narrowly missed out on a World Championship appearance by one series to Gaimin Gladiators that year, but would still feature at the EWC with XO Esports.
After a relatively underwhelming RLCS 2025, the Thai professional linked up with former Virtus.pro duo Nik Aiman Hakim
"Sphinx" Bin Nik Azhar and Leonardo Raffael
"Catalysm" Christ Ramos in September 2025. They soon became the dominant force in APAC during RLCS 2026, winning five Regional Opens and joining
TSM in March. Together, they have featured at the Boston and Paris Majors this year, but failed to pick up a series at either tournament. The current highlight of Kevin’s year came at the EWC 2026, where TSM managed to earn APAC a
historic tenth win against international competition when they beat reigning World Champions NRG. After five years of plying his trade in APAC, Kevin finally has a deserved opportunity at a World Championship, where he will become the first Thai player to ever feature at Rocket League’s premier event.
🇰🇼 M7md - R8 Esports
M7md competing at the RLCS 2026 Paris Major. Credit: Michał Konkol | BLAST.tv
Mohammad "
M7md" Almutairi comes into the RLCS 2026 World Championship as the youngest of the new debutants. The 16-year-old made his RLCS debut at the tender age of 14, making his first top-eight at a Regional Open within two months. He has progressed rapidly to feature in the top echelons of the region as a part of a strong generation of Kuwaiti players making their mark in MENA. He was expected to feature at the Esports Nations Cup alongside fellow Kuwaiti professionals Abdullah
"lynx" Alshmmari and Yousef
"Naizak" Almutairi after accumulating enough RLCS points for a direct invitation, but the
tournament was postponed until 2027.
He joined R8 Esports ahead of Open #2 of RLCS 2026, linking up with ROC Esports duo Abdullah "Abdullah" Alsanie and Ghazi "Ghaazi" Al-Otaibi, who were high potential players in their own right and had already featured at the RLCS 2025 World Championship. They earned three second-place finishes and one Regional Open title during the domestic season, beating Team Falcons and Twisted Minds three times during playoff matches. They comfortably qualified for the World Championship through the MENA LCQ without dropping a series and even appeared at EWC 2026, beating Five Fears and taking the Paris Major champions, Karmine Corp, the whole way in a seven game series. M7md will become the first member of a domestic nation outside of Morocco and Saudi Arabia to represent MENA at a RLCS World Championship. He has a bright future ahead of him and could be next in line to feature for the region’s top two teams.
🇨🇦 Tawk - Virtus.pro
Tawk competing at the RLCS 2026 Bostom Major. Credit: Michał Konkol | BLAST.tv
Fully established as one of the top North American players of his generation, Cohen "Tawk" Hawco will now be making his first appearance at an RLCS World Championship. The 19-year-old emerged as a talent towards the end of 2024, quickly making his debut in the RLCS during the first Regional Open of 2025, alongside Robert "Comm" Kyser and Jordan "Evoh" Manley. From this point forward, he enjoyed a rapid rise to the top of the region, becoming a highly sought after player following his four Regional Open appearances that season.
He linked up with Dylan "Wahvey" Thanus and Jayden "2Piece" Horton for RLCS 2026, a duo that was well placed to contend for Major qualification. The team got off to a hot start under the name [REDACTED], earning a top-four in Tawk’s RLCS LAN debut at the Kick-off Weekend, while securing two second-place finishes during the first domestic Split to reach the Boston Major. Joining Virtus.pro ahead of the tournament, Tawk finished with a 9th-12th at the tournament, securing his first RLCS Major win against FURIA. While the team cooled off towards the end of the RLCS 2026 regular season, they still qualified for the World Championship. Tawk showed his versatility, narrowly missing out on representing North America in the 2v2 World Championship by coming second in the NA Open. The Canadian is well on his way to becoming an elite player in North America and with Virtus.pro starting the event in the Play-In phase, a breakout LAN performance could be on the cards for Tawk.
🇪🇸 Tehqoz - Five Fears
tehqoz competing for Five Fears at the Paris Major. Credit: Michał Konkol | BLAST.tv
Touted as one of the next big Spanish prospects alongside Gaspar "stizzy" Andres when he emerged as a player in 2022, Óscar "tehqoz" Arco has finally reached an RLCS World Championship after competing in four different regions. The 20-year-old made his rookie debut in RLCS 2024, earning a top-eight in his very first appearance during 2024’s Open Qualifier #2. He remained a regular in Europe before choosing to compete in APAC under Movistar KOI with fellow European imports Thomas "ThO." Binkhorst and Maarten "Oscillon" van Zee for Split 2 of RLCS 2025. They were unable to make the Raleigh Major or the 2025 World Championship losing out to a strong Virtus.pro team led by Gianluca "sosa" Petrozza. At the end of the season, he competed in the competitive MENA LCQ but could only manage a 5th-6th finish.
Tehqoz decided to play under Five Fears in SSA alongside gunz and Snowyy for RLCS 2026, joining a number of well-known Spanish RLCS players who made the move to compete in SSA following the residency rules changes in 2024, including Luis "LuiisP" Puente Peña, Diego "VKSailen" Isla Serrano and Javier "carca" Caballero Laguna. The team dominated the region, winning five out of six Regional Opens, qualifying to both Majors, and reaching the RLCS World Championship. Tehqoz made his LAN debut in Boston and has since competed at the Paris Major and EWC in August this year. The Spaniard will now make his debut at a World Championship, where after multiple regions of development, he could provide the star power Five Fears need to take a series in the Play-In phase.
